College Room Rents Hiked 15 Percent for Fall of 1957

Room rents will be raised a flat 15 percent on all dormitories in the College next September, it was announced yesterday. This will bring the cost of attending the College to an all-time high.

In announcing the hike, Arthur D. Trottenberg '48, Manager of Operating Services, said that it would not apply to any of the graduate schools.

This is the first increase in room rents since the fall of 1954, when they were raised five percent. At that time the University also announced the imminent end of maid service.

The major reason for the increase, Trottenberg said, is the already great, and still growing cost of operating the dormitories. It will not cover any capital improvements, he said, but will just be used for the running of the system. "We are in the position of the man who has to keep on running just to stay in one place," he explained.

Porter Service Unchanged

These costs include all the utilities--electricity, heat, water, and so forth--and salaries of all the employees--caretakers, janitors, porters, maids, and so forth. There will be no change in the porter services in student's rooms, he said.

The department's budget, Trottenberg explained, is about one and a half million dollars. Like the other business activities at the University, it must be self-supporting; any profits it may make are negligible.

Applies to All Rooms

He said that he hoped this would be the last such raise for some time. Earlier this year, board rates were raised $24 to $510 per year, and tuition $200 to $1000 per year. The health service rates were increased with the opening of the health insurance plan in the fall of 1955.

The rent raise will apply to all College rooms. This includes all Yard dormitories, the Houses, and the Prescott St. apartments, now inhabited by freshmen.