A group of Winthrop House students yesterday launched a campaign to reduce the number of Winthrop House residents next year. The students claim that the present system of quotas for house population results in overcrowding Winthrop relative to Dunster and Lowell Houses.

"Because of the old, faulty method of assigning quotas, Winthrop people are getting screwed," a leaflet distributed by the group said. The leaflet urged Winthrop residents to call Genevieve H. Austin, assistant dean of students, and "show your concern." By afternoon, more than 20 residents had done so.

A count made by J. David Grizzle '75, CHUL representative from Winthrop House shows that although Lowell has 460 rooms to Winthrop's 380, the two houses both have quotas of about 340 students for next year.

Quotas

The quota system now in use was developed in 1969 by a committee headed by Zeph Stewart, Master of Lowell House. Stewart said yesterday that according to the formula, quotas are based on the ideal number of students a suite will hold--one to a bedroom. The excess population is assigned to equalize the proportion of overcrowded suites.

Since Lowell house has a larger proportion of livingrooms, the Winthrop students complain that the present quotas do not take into account the greater flexibility available to Lowell in connecting suites and turning extra livingrooms into bedrooms.

"I thought it was impossible that the Stewart quotas could be unfair," Bruce Chalmers, Master of Winthrop House, said at a meeting of the group on Thursday night, "but now I see that I was wrong."