In connection with the new "House" plan idea at Harvard College, it is of interest to note how a similar arrangement has been put into effect at Vanderbilt Hall, the new Medical School dormitory, with considerable success.

According to Dean D. L. Edsall, the community life of the hall has increased to great exent not only the social and athletic side of Medical School life, but also, through the contacts made the students with resident instructors and with each other, has increased the intellectual activity, interest in cultural and medical problems.

Along English College Lines

The plan has been worked out along English College system lines, and is continually being improved. The affairs of the "house" are in charge of the students themselves, delegating their authority to the presidents of the four classes, who are advised and assisted by the three members of the faculty. The students take the management of their dormitory quite seriously, and no disciplinary action has so far been found necessary because of infringement of the self-imposed regulations.

Sixteen of the younger, unmarried teachers live in the hall, not at all as proctors, but rather as students in more advanced lines of work. These men apply for rooms just as the incipient doctors do; they eat and play and study with the other members of the "house."

Dormitory Like a Club

Vanderbilt is managed like a club For meals checks are signed as at the Harvard Union, and various club facilities are provided. Ladies are freely allowed in the rooms from one to six o'clock, the only provision being the notification of the janitor so that he may not confuse them with agents and saleswomen, who are not allowed in the hall. The bringing of guests, men and women, to dinner is encouraged, and several dances are held during the year.

Enlargements Proposed

As the dormitory holds but 262 of the men in the Medical School, an enlargement of the quarters in the near future is being considered. When this is completed it is hoped to include in the hall the students in the School of Public Health, who come from 30 different countries and also the graduate students, some 30 graduates of medical schools in 15 countries whose fellowships are paid by various endowments.