Non-Resident House System Will Satisfy More Applicants

This is the third in the series of articles designed to help Freshmen and others who are applying for Houses this spring.

Last spring the Masters agreed that the House situation could be relieved by accepting from ten to twelve applicants as Non-Resident members of the Houses. This system was adopted and is now a permanent feature of the House plan.

These Non-Resident members are chosen from the Waiting List which is compiled after the first spring assignment to rooms are made by the Masters. One does not automatically become eligible as an associate by being refused to a House. It is necessary to fill out a Waiting List application at University Hall.

It may also be pointed out that this system of associate members is not designed for commuters or others who prefer to live outside of a House, but take part in the activities and use the facilities of a House. A man should not apply to a House unless he is willing to live in it; the Non-Resident system was set up for the purpose of giving those men who could not be accomodated a means of becoming part of the House system.

The University states clearly in a pamphlet describing the House that "a student who does not accept a reservation in a House in any assignment will be considered ineligible for Non-Resident membership in any House in the following academic year."

Non-Residents May Get Rooms

On the other hand if a student accepts a Non-Resident membership that does not preclude him from taking a room when a vacancy occurs. The top men on the Waiting List are therefore appointed as associates until the time when a vacancy occurs and others on the Waiting List are appointed associates in their place.

A Non-Resident member has all the privileges of a resident member. That is, he can, after paying a charge of twenty-five dollars, eat in the dining hall at the regular rates, use the library, and take part in all activities of the House. In this way the House system has been expanded to include more than seventy men who otherwise would be outside the plan. At the same time it does not preclude the possibility of giving all upperclassmen the full benefits of the House plan if and when another House is built.