Freshmen Begin Thinking About Choice of Houses

Freshman are begining to confront traditional and often agonizing questions about rooming groups and House preferences as the March 10 deadline for submission of rooming applications approaches.

A major obstacle to reaching decisions seems to be a lack of information about the nature and distinctive qualities of each House. "Without enough knowledge to base our choice on, it won't be hard to name a House," Deborah S. Jacobs '81 said yesterday. "It will just be arbitrary."

In order to help freshmen gather information, the Freshman Dean's Office will today distribute booklets about the Houses. The office has encouraged House committees to set up open houses for freshmen in late February and early March, W.C. Burris Young '55, associate dean of freshman, said yesterday.

Several freshmen said yesterday they had less contact with the Houses than previous classes because they did not eat weekend meals in House dining halls as freshmen have in the past. Few said they consistently used tickets supplied by the Freshman Dean's Office to eat at the Houses voluntarily or to join group trips organized by proctors.

Tod Z. Tanaka, Dunster House Committee co-chairman, said, however, "Last year, House residents thought of freshmen as a nuisance but when frosh do visit this year they get attention and information."

Mark Goldberg, a freshman proctor, agreed, saying "This year's freshmen don't have a very good picture of what the houses are like, but neither did those of the past."

Freshmen seem to be meeting with slightly more success in-choosing rooming groups. A. Frank Gelardan '81 said, "For a while now it's been kind of obvious who would stay together and who wouldn't."

But it hasn't been easy for everyone. "After living together for about half a year, all of a sudden roommates are forced to re-examine many aspects of their personal relationships," Lloyd B. Schmidt '81 said.