The non-merger merger was financially, attractive to Radcliffe largely because Harvard absorbed all of the school's debts. But for Harvard's sake, the compromise neatly side-stepped the key issue--the total absorption of Radcliffe women into the Harvard mainstream, a situation many observes felt could only be brought about by the admission of equal numbers of both sexes.

Committee members who drew up the non-merger recommendation admitted freely that their proposal intentionally avoided the ratio issue--an admission that was not consonant with their report's repeated emphasis on "full and equal participation of Radcliffe students in the intellectual and social life of the University."

Harvard fund-raisers further warned that alumni contributors would not tolerate a decrease in male enrollment to accommodate a larger number of women undergraduates. With characteristic circuity, administrators argued that increasing the female enrollment would be impossible since increased total enrollment--the logical solution to the fund-raising dilemma--would inevitably and irreparably depreciate the value of a Harvard education.

But the ratio issue did not end there. A variety of forces--most notably, pending federal legislation that would at the very least mandate sex-blind admissions at coeducational schools--stirred concern among administrators here as elsewhere. College administrators realized they would have to demonstrate that their admissions policies, like their hiring practices, were non-discriminatory or face legislative action to force compliance with standards beyond those they would impose on themselves.

In the fall of 1972 President Bok announced a plan under which men and women would be admitted to incoming classes in the ratio of 2.5-to-1. To mitigate the effects a predicted cutback in male enrollment might have on donations, Bok ordered that the size of the Harvard class be decreased by only 50 men and the Radcliffe class increased by about 150 women--a net increase in enrollment of the College.

To avoid an upset in the economic diversity of the incoming Radcliffe classes, he pledged additional funds for scholarships for Radcliffe students. And to alleviate the impending housing shortage, the University bought the Hotel Continental on Garden Street near the Quadrangle and embarked on a campaign for donations for a new dormitory (which eventually led to the building of Canaday Hall).

But student demands for one-to-one admissions have increased since. Commencement actions in particular have marked the heightened concern with artificial quotas of less than one-to-one.

An April 11, 1973 Crimson editorial stated:

...Simply to talk of "non-discriminatory" in an institution intent on enrolling more men than women is naive. Harvard's applicant pool is so over-qualified that any numerical limit on acceptances means arbitrary choice. The question centers on the principles that will guide such choices. Harvard's past practice demonstrates that, if possible, sexism will be one of those principles....

By enrolling equal numbers of men and women, by recruiting men and women with equal effort, by providing personal services in equal quantities and of equal quality, by providing as much money for needy women as Harvard does for low-income men, and by hiring qualified men and women teachers and workers in equal numbers, Harvard will demonstrate both its ability and willingness to provide a healthy educational community without sexual discrimination. Under those conditions non-discrimination would yield a one-to-one student body. Until students and alumni demand equal admissions by deliberate policy or Congress passes legislation which will force Harvard toward accepting as many women as men, the University will continue to discriminate against women. No one should be satisfied with Harvard's admissions policy until equal numbers of men and women are admitted.

But Harvard continued to cite financial difficulties as the obstacle to equal admissions. This reasoning, advocates of one-to-one admissions argue, is either circular or false. Figures from other colleges suggest that increased coeducation--even with decreased male enrollment--has not diminished alumni contributions. (And equal admissions proponents have consistently opposed an increase in the size of the college.)

Furthermore, they argue, by opening more places to women, Harvard will create the capacity in more women to make large contributions to Harvard. In 1972, for example, the average pledge of Radcliffe seniors was higher than that of their male counterparts.

A serious financial argument is possible only if one believes what F. Skiddy von Stade '37, dean of freshmen, said five years ago--that educated women are simply less useful to society than educated men. "When I see the bright, well-educated, but relatively dull housewives who attended the Seven Sisters, I honestly shudder at the thought of changing the balance of males versus females at Harvard," von Stade said. "Quite simply, I do not see highly educated women making startling strides in contributing to our society in the foreseeable future. They are not, in my opinion, going to stop getting married and/or having children. They will fail in their present role as women if they do."

(It is interesting to note, however, that in a survey answered by about half--presumably the more concerned half--of Harvard's 1974 25th Reunion Class, over 62 per cent favored "merger." Sixty-eight per cent favored the "admission of women to Harvard College." Although the distinction between the two questions is not clear, the responses indicate that a sizable portion of last year's 25th Reunion Class--the class traditionally responsible for the largest annual contribution to the University--does not share the von Stade hypothesis.)

What is more disturbing than von Stade's statement, however, is the fuel that was added to the fire by Radcliffe's current president. President Horner's well-publicized thesis that women--notably Radcliffe women--are afraid to succeed has been a source of support for the hard-line attitudes of Harvard stalwarts like von Stade.