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The Subcommittee on Mather House has presented its final report to the Committee on Houses, urging that any senior who wishes to move off-campus be permitted to make the change, if the University can afford it.
Under the present system seniors who wish to live off-campus must present reasons for leaving the Houses. Richard T. Gill '48, chairman of the subcommittee and Master of Leverett House, said the Mather planners had suggested that "ideally any senior should be able to leave the Houses and we hope it works out that way."
The subcommittee also proposed that students who live off-campus be charged for the facilities they use in the Houses. Gill said that the $25 fee that off-campus students now pay does not cover their share in the cost of running House offices and educational services. He said that the present fee also does not pay for all the expenses involved in running Dudley House.
Raise Scholarships
Students who live in the Houses are subsidizing those who live off-campus by paying all the House expenses in their room rent," Gill said.
The financial aid office would raise scholarships to compensate for the proposed charges if the Committee on Houses approves the plan, Gill added.
The text of the final recommendation was not available yesterday.
"We are trying to calculate the actual costs off-campus students should pay--we are definitely not trying to discourage men from moving off," Gill said. "Any figure that the Committee on Houses finally approves will be provisional for the next year or two," he added.
The subcommittee also proposed that all juniors and seniors have their own bedrooms. Mather House will be used to deconvert existing suites where these conditions are not met. The tenth house will not be used to boost substantially the number of undergraduates.
Quick Before It Melts
Electricity is a privilege, not a right. Tomorrow morning from 4:30 to 6:30 a.m., for a select but as yet unspecified group of Harvard Square area residents, the privilege is off. The Cambridge Electric Company will be replacing a cable.
When you wake up and the clock reads 4:30, it can mean it's 4:30, or it's later than 4:30 but earlier than 6:30; in either case, you're out of your mind. Go back to sleep.
Gill's subcommittee did recommend that the number of transfer students be increased by about 15. Currently 20 or 25 transfers are admitted each year.
The report also suggested that Claverly Hall, Apley Courts, and the cooperative dormitories remain unchanged, Gill said. The 20 upperclassmen who now live in Wigglesworth will probably be transferred to Claverly, allowing some deconversion in the Yard.
HPC-HUC Polls
The subcommittee--which met with representatives of the Harvard Undergraduate Council and Harvard Policy Committee--decided to retain these units largely on the results of HPC-HUC and independent polls. The polls showed that students living in these units and off-campus overwhelmingly prefer their accommodations to living in the Houses.
The polls also stated that most students do not move off-campus for financial reasons. This is the main reason the Mather Subcommittee does not believe the off-campus charge will end off-campus living, Gill explained.
The Faculty members of the subcommittee include Arthur D. Trottenberg '48, assistant dean of the Faculty; Dean Watson; F. Skiddy von Stade Jr. '38; and Masters Charles W. Dunn and Zeph Stewart.
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