Mass Conversion

The Administration has not yet decided whether or not it should poll students on the desirability of "deconverting" the seven original Houses. "Deconversion," for those who have short memories, means the reduction of House suites to numbers approximating those of the thirties. It also means higher rooms rents and the loss of a roommate or two.

Some reduction of suite capacity took place over the summer, but not enough to provide the "one study-bedroom per student" ideal proposed last spring. Further deconversion will be necessary, certainly, in Mather Hall, which becomes part of Quincy House next year. Either Mather is deconverted and becomes more attractive to Quincy juniors and seniors, or it becomes a "dumping ground" for sophomores or for scholarship students attracted by lower prices.

One of the few arguments raised against a poll is that "students do not know enough about money" to legislate for their own good on this matter, but this view has relatively little support and does not merit rebuttal here.

What is important is that students be consulted somehow and that this poll be framed in such a way as to provide the maximum variety of deconversion choices. While no one likes sleeping in double-decker bunks, there are merits to "converted" suites beyond the cheaper prices. "Crowding" makes roommates of three, four, and five possible in situations where only two or three students lived in lonely privacy during the thirties. If nothing else, Quincy House has shown that four-man living arrangements are comfortable, providing the individual can have privacy when he wants it.

For this reason, an alternative to both deconversion and the status quo should be explored. For instance, where "true doubles" (rooms containing a living room and two study-bedrooms) exist side by side, five men can live comfortably by using one of the living rooms as a study bedroom (thus achieving a "true triple") and the other living room for social purposes. Or three men can arrange a "true triple" out of two adjoining single suites. The possibilities for achieving the kind of group privacy realized by Quincy House's four-man suites seems virtually limitless.

Certainly, this possibility, as well as other imaginative suggestions, should be placed before members of the seven original Houses. Students may not ultimately realize "what is good for them," but they are usually certain how they want to live.