Several Houses just before the war provided "day rooms" in which commuters who so wished could study and eat in more fashionable surroundings than those offered by Dudley. These rooms had to be paid for by the commuters, however. With the post-war premium on House space, little has been done to continue this system.

One of the toughest and most important problems facing the commuters is the library question. Like all other students, commuters cannot take reserve books out of Lamont until 9 p.m. and must return them by 9 a.m.

Waiting around until 9 p.m. defeats the commuters' ever-present idea of saving money by eating at home. Furthermore, the 9 a.m. return deadline is almost impossible to meet in some cases (one man takes two hours and ten minutes to get here each way), and fines add another financial burden.

Because of this book situation, many commuters have to do much of their studying in the afternoon before going home for supper, and this cuts sharply their extra-curricular activities.

After the war the swollen size of the University placed an even greater bur- den on the Commuters Center. At this time, Duhig noted, "a sharp decline in membership during the junior and senior years... The crowded and inadequate facilities of the present rooms force many upperclassmen to make other arrangements."

The membership of the Center in post war years has become stabilized at between 450 and 500 men. The dining hall, however, is just big enough to accommodate 100 men, and other facilities are on a similar scale. Consequently any attempts to expand the Center's activities have been restricted by lack of space in which to expand.

Spirit Gets Better

With the arrival of Fischelis as graduate secretary last fall, Dudley spirit and activity took a distinct turn upward.

Fischelis likes to look at the commuter problem as primarily one of communication--"communication between students themselves and also communication between commuters and faculty members. The very essence of commuting is a lack of contact between non-resident men and other members of the Harvard community. Even commuters themselves mingle very little together, and you are apt to find high school cliques continuing all through College."

To get commuters to mingle more freely Fischelis last spring sponsored the first annual Dudley Hall dinner. The event, held in Adams House, was a success, and President Conant is slated to speak at this spring's dinner. Another such innovation was a dinner for commuting freshmen held this October in Dudley itself. Over half of all 1955 commuters listened to Dean Leighton as he urged them to participate more fully in College activities and told them "The College has a big stake in commuters: you are a part of the community and you shouldn't feel you don't belong to it." In addition to the dinners Fischelis has scheduled an increased number of record dances at the Center.

Contact between students and tutors has gone up markedly in the past year, mainly because Fischelis has recruited additional faculty members to eat lunch in the Dudley dining hall every day. There are now eight such men, while last year there were only five. Instead of being known as "faculty associates" as they were in the past, they are now officially called "tutors," something which Fischelis feels helps greatly in erasing the difference between Dudley and a House.

Other Improvements

More tangible factors in improving communication have been the installation of a telephone at Dudley and the creation of an office for the graduate secretary. Two large bulletin boards for notices and another, one for tutorial bulletins have been put up. Despite the lack of any real secretarial assistance. Fischelis has begun a more complete system of files on individual commuters. None of these improvements existed before he came into office last year.

Improving the physical condition of Dudley has been one of Fischelis' main concerns. With aid from the University, the dining hall has been repainted and has had drapes added. The game room has been renovated, and an attempt has been made to spruce up the entire hall. The undergraduate House Committee has voted to purchase a television set.

Here again space is the factor which threatens to halt any improvement. One of Fischelis' major campaigns has been centered around the expansion of Dudley's tutorial system. Lack of office space has prevented tutors from seeing commuters at any time except at meals. If really sound student-tutor relationships are to develop, Dudley should have small offices in which conferences could be held conveniently. A great deal of the office space in Dudley Hall has been requisitioned of late by the Russian Research Center, and unless more space is somehow procured, the Dudley tutorial plan may die a quick and silent death.