Masters Predict Few Will Leave Houses

Response to the Administration's decision allowing seniors to live off campus next year has been Very light, according to a consensus of opinion gathered yesterday from the House Masters.

Most of the Masters said they had no idea of the actual number of applicants who would apply to leave, but all generally agreed that it would be a very small one.

Several said they had interviewed only two or three applicants thus far, but one Master stated that 15 students definitely desired to live outside his House next year, and estimated that around 30 more would move out under certain conditions.

In his statement to the CRIMSON last week, Dean Watson expressed the hope that around 75 students would desire to live outside the Houses next year, and these vacancies would be filled by students forced to commute this year.

Eliot Perkins, Master of Lowell House, predicted yesterday that a total of "around 60 or 70" students from the seven Houses would move out. Other Masters were optimistic that such a number could be reached, but felt that it was too early to tell at present.

The Masters stated that no set criteria other than the stipulations set forth in Dean Watson's statement would be used to judge the applicants' reasons for leaving the House. Watson said that to move out a student must secure the approval of his Master and of his parents.

John J. Conway, Master of Leverett House, commented that "Once you get down to the practical problem of living out, it is not an easy one." He expressed the sentiment that it might be difficult for students to find agreeable living conditions in Cambridge.

Conway said that those members of his House who wish to live off campus next year would be expected to find their rooms before they left the University in June, so that they would be assured of a place to stay when they returned in September.

Perkins expressed a similar opinion with regard to the housing problem. He asserted that "When the students have looked into the room situation, they will conclude that it is not worth the trouble.