As students began to riot at college campuses across the country in 1969, Harvard officials believed it couldn't happen here.

The source of this confidence was the close student faculty contact fostered by--the House system, officials say.

Professors and administrators argued that living and eating with a tenured professor and a battery of associates, fellows, and tutors would decrease student alienation.

The House system, however, later proved overrated as Harvard students rioted and took over administrative buildings.

Now in its 53rd year, the House system continues to struggle with its vaguely defined mandate and numerous roles in the education of Harvard students.

On the one hand, the Houses strive to recreate the intellectual climate of their Oxford-Cambridge parents. On the other hand, Harvard's commitment to the system--in dollars, personnel, and independence--has not kept pace with high expectations.

Observers say that the House system has never really had a chance to settle in, President A. Lawrence Lowell retired in 1933, leaving the system an orphan at age three. World War II and the unrest of the late `60s and the inclusion of women have prevented traditions from forming.

The role of the Houses continues to be worked out. Most recently, the two-year-old student-faculty Committee on Housing has addressed the difficult questions of the Houses scope and importance.

"The House system is an unnatural act that has never truly worked because its implications have never been thought out," says the Rev. Peter J. Games, Pismmer Professor of Christian Morals.

But in the meantime, it is the House masters who bear the responsibility for carrying out the Houses' vague mandate.

Lessened Autonomy

Historically the masters' autonomy has been gradually limited. As late as the 1950s, powerful Masters like John H. Finley at Eliot House and Eliot Perkins at Lowell reserved the right to choose the Houses' students and tutors. Masters then held lifetime posts.

But in the '60s, the masters' duties began to be usurped by other offices. A computer now places students, and the academic departments select tutors. University Hall now takes care of many maintenance and funding matters.

And President Bok has apparently set out to limit each master to a five-year term. Currently, a master's appointment is understood to last five years, with the option of yearly extensions.

At the same time, masters began to shy away from their increased responsibilities. In the '60s, they had to deal both with student protests and with student pressure for help in getting into graduate schools, says Dean of the College John B. Fox Jr. "Masters began to buckle under the double lung," he recalls.