Mather House Master David Herlihy says he "would quite willingly listen to proposals for modifications" in the current assignment system. Herlihy adds that since Mather is generally a second-choice House, its population tends to be more representative of the College than those Houses filled exclusively by students who wanted to live in them.
"The randomness has worked very well for Mather, and I don't see why it wouldn't work in other Houses," he says.
All Masters who come out in favor of modifications in the choice system cite not only diversity as a desirable goal, but also a lower level of springtime anxiety in freshmen.
"One of the most devastating problems is the time and anxiety placed on choosing a House. This is for naught--students placed in North House become happy with what they have," Professor Hastings says.
On the other side of the issue, the Masters of Quincy, Eliot, Winthrop, Lowell and Adams Houses say they see no reason for a change in the present system.
"If it isn't broken, don't fix it," says Eliot Master Alan Heimert, adding that he is "satisfied" with the present system. "No one has convinced me that there's a need to change," adds Lowell Master William H. Bossert '59, saying he sees no major differences in the Houses.
Bossert says he disagrees with Fox's statement that Houses often are not "microcosms" of the College, adding: "I don't know that Dean Fox has seen down to the dining halls to see
Quincy Master David Aloian '49 says he opposes a random system because a student should have the right to choose where he will spend the majority of his Harvard career. "There is nothing wrong with clustering to share interests, and students do quite well finding other crossroads for drama and athletics, for example," Aloian explains.
Adams Master Robert J. Kiely says he opposes any system in which not all students can choose their Houses. "There are reasons for people picking a certain community, and there has been a high success, [under the current system] of students getting their first choice," he explains.
Masters at Cabot and Dunster House declined to comment because they said they had not been Master's long enough to judge the issue.
Kirkland House Master Donald H. Pfister also declined to comment on whether the system should be changed, but says he plans to introduce the issue at today's meeting of the Committee on Housing, on which he serves. P But, Pfister adds, "We're not sure that we've resolved what this index is."