THE QUALITY OF LIFE

To the Editors of The Crimson:

I could not help but sigh with relief after reading David Ignatius's inspirational article of October 19, 1972, on the need for University Democracy. I was beginning to worry that Ignatius et al would go through a whole semester without once raising an issue which would hit students in the guts, get them out of the libraries, and back up against Mass Hall.

David Ignatius wants to revive the now defunct Harvard Undergraduate Council, a single elected body representing all the undergraduates. Unlike the Committee on Houses and Undergraduate Life, this group would concentrate on "controversial" and "important" issues.

It is ironic that the Crimson is now supporting the very same student type government that it helped topple in 1968. But perhaps this type of student government patterned after a high school student council has appeal for this undergraduate body. As everyone knows, 75 per cent of the undergraduates at one time were high school student council presidents, representatives, or homeroom cloakroom monitors. I am quite confident that these former high school pols who fought for liberal dress codes and long hair for guys would be most attracted to this campus organization.

And what about the "sleep-inducing" Committee on Houses and Undergraduate Life? Unlike the Crimson, our activities are not controversial enough to be picked up by every news service in the free world. We are more or less, concerned with improving the co-educational and co-residential experiences of those students in Harvard Yard and the River Houses without destroying the female-male balance at Radcliffe.

Many of us think that CHUL should continue to push for equal admission of women and men in this University so that every year we will not have to hassle with unequal co-residential conditions. Co-residency problems may not be as glamorous as confronting the CRR issue, but then again, the Committee on Houses and Undergraduate Life is concerned more with everyday living problems than headline-grabbing. Mitchell Wolfe   The Lowell House CHUL   Representative