You Pays Your Money . . .

Two classic needs--for companionship on one hand and for money on the other--were responsible for the unwonted fifty cent admission to the Freshman Orientation Dance on Saturday. Of course, the fact that the young ladies neither requested nor received the money made the mass tryst respectable as the Union which housed it. Further, since the Crimson Key both sponsored the dance and collected the entrance fee, and since it is the Key's periodic function to Do Good, the fifty cents is practically a charitable donation.

Upon examination, however, it is obvious that the admission price is both unfair and insulting to the Radcliffe freshmen. It is gross exploitation for the Key to make money on the poise, charm, and dancing ability of the girls who are the attraction for solvent Harvards. But this exploitation is nothing compared to the insult implicit in assessing at fifty cents an introduction to the girls possessing these gentle qualities. They would be cheap at twice the price.

And from the Harvard viewpoint, the flat admission is equally unfortunate and inequitable. While some men at the dance form friendships and make lasting contacts, others just gawk about, sampling the punch and adjusting their ties. Surely these two cases do not receive equal benefits from the dance, so it is unfair to tax them equally.

The only way to reconcile the sensibilities and needs of all factions in the next Orientation Dance is the Pay As You Go Plan. Under this system, the flat rate would be abolished. Instead, men who attended would be on their honor to make a suitable donation in proportion to their success in meeting companionable girls. This way, a man who ended the evening having dated a charming delight would bear a large share of the dance's expense, while his less fortunate brother, winding up with a lackluster Miss or perhaps just a straight tie, could complain only of a wasted evening--not an expensive one. Also, the Radcliffe introductions would have no taint of official rate-setting. With the Pay As You Go Plan the Key can make its needed money most painlessly--by heartfelt donations, rather than grumbling admission fees.