Reduced student choice has resulted inincreased diversity within the houses.

"There has been progress," Dingman says.

But Black students say this "progress" canleave them feeling cut off from peers.

Cynthia D. Johnson '96 requested all of theQuad houses when she entered the housing lotterylast year. As a fourth choice, she selectedQuincy, where she now lives.

Johnson says many Black students try to live inthe Quad because they feel more at ease there.

"It's a common human phenomenon for people todesire to be with people they have something incommon with," Johnson says.

The housing office has consistently refused torelease figures for the racial breakdown of eachof the houses.

But many students believe that the Quad housesthe majority of Harvard's Black students.

In fact, the sheer numbers of Black students inthe Quad helps build a sense of community thatmany believe does not exist in the river houses,according to students.

And organizations which target Black studentsfor membership have focused much of theirattention on Currier, Cabot and North. As aresult, Black river residents can feel out oftouch, Watson says.

"The [Black] people who live on the river areso far away from things," she says. "It's easierto know about activities [living on the Quad]."

"It's a more comfortable atmosphere, just to bein a group of people that share similar struggles,similar problems in the classroom, similar goalsin terms of giving back to the Black communityafter Harvard," Johnson says.

Dingman says he understands why some Blackstudents choose to live in the Quad.

"I hear [their concern] and I understand it,"he says.

But Dingman adds that these concerns should nowbe alleviated by the increasing numbers of Blackstudents at Harvard.