DANCING IN THE RED

It is about time somebody told the House dance committees--in a nice way, of course--that they are engaged in a game of blindman's buff, and that their current policy is as much a source of wonder to the undergraduate body as it is a source of undue profit to the orchestras they employ.

In the Spring of last year the House Masters limited their dance committees to one dance annually with an $800 orchestra and two with a $250 orchestra. The effect of this ruling was to reduce House losses: the smaller dances, usually after football games, paid their way while the more costly dances went consistently in the red.

Indeed, it is obvious that, undergraduate polls and undergraduate jitterbugs notwithstanding, no House should ever engage a "name" orchestra. To pay for such orchestras it is necessary in the first place to raise the price of admission beyond the reach of many members of the House. This is a patent injustice and ample reason in itself for abolishing such dances. Secondly and consequently, it is necessary to initiate an expensive advertising campaign and lure in outsiders, usually Freshmen or members of other Houses, but too often out and out ringers. Thirdly, the House dining-halls (with a single possible exception) are too small to accommodate the crowd necessary to pay for the orchestra.

In addition to these physical obstacles, numerous other evils attend costly dances. Chief of these is cut-throat competition between the Houses, apparently carried on with a fond belief in the possibility of driving some Houses out of business altogether. Another evil, directly resulting from the present ruling, is the tendency of orchestras to make their minimum the House's maximum and hold out for a higher figure than they would ordinarily demand.

The function of House dances is not to provide copy for Boston gossip columns nor to compete with Boston night clubs. It is to create throughout the year an inexpensive and congenial social season for House members and their friends. This can best be done by limiting the size and cost of dances and possibly increasing their number.

The minority whom such an arrangement would not please fall into two camps. For those who would like the drawing power of a large social function to attract distant damsels, a class dance still remains a possibility. Those, on the other hand, who disdainfully mutter "Corn!" at the mention of a small orchestra, can get more jitters per dollar in Boston, where hot spots, in addition to good bands, alcohol and floor shows, have the virtue of being out of earshot from Cambridge.