'House System' at Williams Opposed By New Pro-Fraternity Newspaper

A new student newspaper has been published at Williams College by a committee that is attempting to preserve the school's fraternities and block adoption of a new housing program that resembles Harvard's House system.

The first edition of the paper, called Williams Affairs, was distributed Saturday by "The Undergraduate Committee for the Best Interest of Williams College." Chairman John Donovan, who termed the paper a response to the administration's "neglect of student opinion" on the fraternity issue, said his group is unsure of the next publication date.

The four-page publication was devoted completely to opposition of the new program and asking for a change in Williams' housing "from within the fraternity system." It maintained that it would be foolish to place fraternities under the complete control of the college when better academic standards and student-faculty relations could be achieved with the status quo.

Although a majority of upperclassmen at Williams signed a petition early this fall opposing any change in the present fraternity system, the regular undergraduate paper, the Record, has approved the new plan.

No New Construction Planned

According to Donald Gardner, staff assistant to the committee in charge of implementing the program, the housing units will be similar to Harvard Houses, but with only 50-90 students living in each. Instead of new construction, they will be placed in existing dormitories and fraternity houses.

The program is based on a report submitted by an alumni committee this summer that opposed the present fraternities.

Although Donovan's committee is attempting, especially through its newspaper, to convince fraternities to block the plan by refusing to donate their houses for use in the program, Gardner feels that student support is increasing And according to John Jobeless, executive editor of the Record, three houses have decided to comply with the administration and another three are considering action favorable to the plan.

Aside from Donovan's group and an "Alumni Action Committee," he said, the opposition has disintegrated to "a few nuts that run around putting stickers on cars and buildings."