Dean Ford's announcement yesterday of a new House assignment system caught almost everyone by surprise.

Most critical was John H. Finley '25, Master of Eliot House, who deplored the decision as "a step toward making the Houses into dormitories." Its effect will be to "diminish the character and continuity of the Houses," while the long-run problem is to increase their character, he said.

He predicted that the "discouraging" system will take virtually all choice away from the Masters. "No one wants to choose from sheer statistics; we are interested in individuals," he said.

Bruce Chalmers, Master of Winthrop House, disagreed, commenting that the new system will be "an improvement over the old popularity contest. The quality, spirit, and effectiveness of a House depend more upon what happens to the people inside than upon which particular students are chosen," he said.

While "quite aware of the real difficulties of the present system," Richard gill '48, Master of Leverett House, said he preferred working with it for a few more years.

Dean Monro yesterday hailed the proposal as "the simplest and best digest of everyone's recommendations." He said it was "nothing very radical" and expects that "awkward points" can be worked out. Dean Watson, similarly, said he is "delighted" and expects it to work.

Daniel C. Goldfarb Jr. '66, chairman of the HUC, was "disappointed that the system puts the focus on six weeks of painful administration rather than on Master and student choice." The plan, he said, "is guided too much by fear of the emotional reaction that is associated with the word 'computer' in this community."

One representative from Dunster House who helped prepare the HUC report, Henry M. Sondheimer '66, pointed out that the new system would result in the Deans' doing most of the selection. In an HUC poll, 81 per cent of the student body preferred selection by the Masters instead of the Deans.

Zeph Stewart, Master of Lowell House, summed up the confusion most people feel. "It's such a shot in the dark--and will probably lead to a lot of shooting in the dark," he said.