Unfurnished Rooms

There is one thing that the College's new Student Activities Center does not contain: there is no common room for undergraduates to take their dates after parietal rules force them out of their rooms. After eight o'clock couples in some Houses can share common rooms with televiewers; in other Houses, they must leave altogether. For the student with a date, this lack of a place to go has always been a nuisance.

While each House has two common rooms, one is usually set aside for use by organizations or faculty residents. In many cases, these rooms are little used and House Committees could easily arrange to open them to couples on weekend evenings after regulation hours. This use of the rooms should be considered just as important as the meeting of any group.

But the common rooms, with their formal atmosphere, are certainly not the final solution to this problem. If the University intends to maintain its parietal rules, officials should plan adequate facilities for entertaining feminine guests. Housemasters could renovate present facilities for permanent use, or the College could provide necessary space. In either case, the sooner action comes the better. Making rules is one thing; solving the problems those rules raise is another--and just as important.