"Eliot spent $1,000 just on champagne for the fete. That was one half what our spring event cost," says NoHo's Messina. Eliot is blessed by the fact that house Master Alan E. Heimert '49 pays for the alcohol at their parties, freeing up house committee funds to go to other events.

"When Quincy had their spring weekend last year, we were just shocked at the money they had for that," says Julie A. Froehele '86, Mather House committee chairman.

But some chairmen are not anxious to be extravagant. "Currier has been able to have parties all the time. But I don't like extravagance personally," says Glen T. Meakem '86, house committee chairman of Lowell, whose balls are run by the house Music Society. "We have benefits that they don't have. Currier needs a lot of money to make up for their location. They have to work hard to create a better environment. We don't have to work half as hard to make things pleasant. We have a beautiful picturesque building, and we're in the center of things."

AT THE SAME TIME, though, another major factor in the quality of house life is the vigor of the committee in pursuing less expensive activities.

"You may be able to put on bigger and more lavish dances, but you're just as likely to have more fun anyway whether you're wearing a tux or jeans," says Leverett's Martin, whose house this fall organized an apple picking expedition. "It will cost us nothing but already in two days 30 people have signed up," Martin says.

At Eliot House, a talent show last year cost nothing "but it really helped get the house together," says Eliot House Committee Chairman Michele T. Ippolito '86. "I think it's more how much time the house committee chairman running it can spend," says Ippolito.

Agrees Froehele of Mather, "Having less money makes it that much, more difficult to go out and do something. But as long as you have the people who are willing to get involved, it's not that big a problem. You can find things that don't cost a lot of money but still have the same effect. If you want to have something extravagant you can just charge more for it."

But there's a vicious cycle at work, too. Low budgets discourage people from getting involved in the house committee, says Cabot House Committee Chairman Margaret L. Ackerley '87.

No one feels this cycle more than the Dudley House Committee. "If Dudley House students were more active we think it would be easy to go to the University and ask for more money. But then students come to you and say gee we'ld like to be more active but get more money first," says Dudley's Colarossi.

With the smallest budget in the system, probably no house needs money more than Dudley, whose house committee is in charge of activities for transfer students--who are not given the opportunity to live on-campus until senior year.

"In the past we've been able to say we don't need that many social activities because people who could have lived in the houses do or moved out voluntarily. Now we really have a captive audience, and we feel obliged to provide for them," says Colarossi.

ULTIMATELY, the place where funding discrepancies hit students most is in the pocket-book. Some houses charge dues and still ask for students to pay for select parties, such as winter and spring formals. Others charge no dues and no admission prices for the formal balls. Five houses charge residents anywhere from $4 to $20 to raise house funds, and five other houses recently considered but rejected charging house dues.

North House residents pay the most. They contribute $15 to their hall for milk and cookies every Sunday night and $5 for house committee. After that, NoHo residents still have to pay for the winter ball and for the main spring activity.

At Lowell and Cabot, students pay $10 in dues and pay for their special functions, though at Lowell the situation is complicated by the fact that the Music Society runs the winter and spring balls. At Eliot, students pay $15 in dues and then go to all house events including the Spring Fete free.

But at eight houses, including Dunster, Adams and Quincy, there are no dues. Explains Quincy House Committee Treasurer Phil N. Prince '86, "We want it to be a user tax. We like the people who use it to pay for it." Agrees Adams House Treasurer M. Margaret Hastings '86, "We feel it would not be fair to ask people to pay for something they won't use."