* Whereas residents consume valuable dormitory space, commuters are a kind of "super-cargo," and in the face of tougher and tougher competition, the local boy will find it increasingly easier to gain admission to Harvard as a commuter than, say, to Yale as a resident. More and more, he will have to choose between "living in" at a less than first rate college, or living with his family and attending Harvard.

Of course, this suggests that commuting students are not, on the whole, as bright as their classmates, and such seems to be the case. According to Dean Bender, the average commuter has a lower Predicted Rank List than the average resident, and with only about 16 major "feeder schools" close enough to send their graduates to the College, the number of qualified applicants from this area appears limited.

In the Classes of '58 to '61, only 35.4 per cent of students admitted from these "feeder schools" made the Dean's List, compared to 39.9 per cent of all students. In addition, 9.5 per cent did "unsatisfactory" work, whereas only 8.8 per cent of all students fell into this category.

Both Monro and Leighton, however, feel that many of the best qualified students in Greater Boston high schools are not even applying to the College--apparently preferring residency in a second-class college to the trials of commuting. If Harvard makes its non-resident operation more attractive, they argue, the percentage of top-notch local applicants will increase to a marked degree.

Thousand Commuters?

Predicting a "significant rise" in the number of commuting students, Monro speaks of 1000 non-residents as "by no means out of the question." Though this is speculation, and not a proposal, the Dean thus underlines the greater role commuters are destined to play in College planning--three, five, ten years in the future.

As one aspect of this planning, President Pusey mentions the "individuality" of non-residents, referring to their special place within the House system. For almost thirty years, two proposals have dominated the discussion on how to integrate commuters into the "life of the College." On the one hand, Dean Bender suggests affiliation of all commuters with the residential Houses as a desirable possibility. Worried about the "isolation" of commuting students, Bender objects to their being "sequestered in a place like Dudley on the basis of economics and geography."

Feeling that college is the time to "cut the umbilical cord, make friends, and see what residency is like," Bender proposes splitting the non-resident upperclassmen into seven groups, assigning each to a House, where a "day room" with lockers and perhaps showers would be provided. His idea is not a new one. In the early Thirties, a graduate wrote to the Alumni Bulletin:

'Supercargo' for the Houses

"If the existing seven Houses can physically make room for extra seats in the dining room, common room, and library, why not a supercargo of 'forgotten men' who, for a proper fee, can become attached to a selected House, grow up with it for three years, and take part in weekday luncheons, House athletics, special dinners, and social gatherings? In other words, become a recognized part of the House for all but breakfast, routine dinner, evening study, and sleeping quarters."

Furthermore, the Student Council in 1953 issued a report observing that "to admit a group only to the intellectual life of the University, to segregate it, make it eat, play, and talk together, to deprive it of all the benefits which more varied contacts would give, is simply to develop in Harvard a group which is not wholly of Harvard."

As Pusey notes in his statement, however, this plan of affiliation could not be adopted. In the first place, the Masters of the residential Houses were not eager to assume a greater administrative load, or to further overcrowd their physical facilities. Secondly, the commuters themselves, as shown by a poll in 1953, were almost unanimously opposed. Not wanting to spread out their sack lunches beneath the crystal chandeliers of Lowell House, they felt it better to have one strong Dudley than seven weak ones. Similar to the Revolutionary aphorism, their reaction was "Let's hang together or we'll hang seperately."

Least Expensive Model

But not all commuters carry sack lunches. For that matter, not all live at home for financial reasons. But the need to save money is the number one reason for non-residency, and Leighton explains in definite figures the difference in price:

"Harvard is something like the automobile market. Our best model--full residency--sells for around $2750, and our least expensive model--living at home--comes to only $1800. Between the extremes, we now offer residency in Apley Court or Wigglesworth (with no board charge) for $2500, and living in the Cooperative House (with a mild work requirement) for $2200."