The assignment of order numbers to some 4700 members of the University in yesterday's draft lottery calls immediate attention to the effect the Selective Service Act will have on Harvard's future.

With the posting of order numbers the draftee may tell with reasonable certainty how soon he is likely to be called. It is probable that the first fifteen numbers will produce the 30,000 the Army has asked for in November. This means that the University quota will not exceed twenty.

All of these who are students may apply for deferment until July 1, although the University has made provision for the refunding of the tuition of any who choose to serve immediately.

No Effect Until Fall

The April call for 800,000 will probably have as little effect on the University enrollment, even though it is likely to hit over 300, since with the end of the academic year in sight most draftees are expected to apply for student deferment.

Thus the first crisis in declining enrollment will come next fall. How heavily it will hit is difficult to say with army plans in such a continual state of flux. However, the obvious eligibility of students once the initial deferment is removed, indicates that as many as a fourth of those registered will have to go.

In college this will not be a great number, probably around fifty, since there are estimated to be only two hundred members of the present lower three classes who have registered. Unless a new date is set those becoming twenty-one will not be subject to call.

All these speculations are subject to modification. There is strong pressure from the smaller colleges to extend the exemption on college students since they will be practically ruined by the drop in attendance. The plausibility of such a course is being discussed at present, but how soon it will develop depends on the changing nature of the national and international scene