Whitlock Wants Fewer Men at Harvard

Dean Whitlock said yesterday that Harvard should decrease the size of future classes by 25 men, beginning next year, in order to relieve the pressure on over-crowded dormitories.

University Hall administrators, including Deans Rosovsky and Whitlock, can alter the size of Harvard classes without President Bok's approval, he said yesterday.

If University Hall officials decide a decrease is necessary, either temporarily or permanently, Bok said yesterday he will be "100 per cent behind them."

Whitlock's proposal partially reverses Bok's 1971 decision to alter Harvard's male-to-female ratio to 2.5-to-1. To achieve the new ratio, the president chose to increase the total number of undergraduates by 300, rather than to significantly lower the number of men.

Whitlock, chief administrative officer of the College, also revealed that some undergraduates will "almost definitely" be placed in the Hotel Continental next year.

Graduate Students Only

Original plans for the Continental, purchased in 1972, called for it to house undergraduates just through this academic year. Afterwards it was merely to accommodate graduate students.

However, the new freshman dormitory, with a capacity of about 200, will not be large enough to absorb the 225-student increase resulting from the first three years of the 2.5-to-1 plan.

In addition, the number of students going on leave, which for the past five years has exceeded the number returning from leave, suddenly dropped this year. Whitlock said that about 100 more undergraduates returned this Fall than departed.

Whitlock predicted that "unless the world changes, another 100 extra will return" next year, and that the numbers will not level off until the proceeding year.

No Transfers

Harvard has already moved to lighten the burden on the housing system, by not accepting transfer applicants next year. In addition, Radcliffe will admit only 10 transfers.

Alberta B. Arthurs, dean of Admissions, Financial Aid and Women's Education, said yesterday that the possibility of changing the size of future Harvard classes hadn't been discussed with her. "I just have an awful lot of faith in Charlie Whitlock on these things," she said.

Whitlock said yesterday that "no committee has yet looked at the optimum size of the College with the attention it deserves."

Educational Reasons

President Horner said she does not believe a change in the size of Harvard's classes is necessary to alleviate over-crowding, which she called "a temporary problem." However, such a change might be needed for educational reasons, she added.