"It's going to be--different," she said.

And Eric C. Engel, an artistic associate of the Nora Theater Company, artist-in-residence of the Freshman Dean's Office and director of the Memorial Hall Complex, said that after the Union closes for renovations, the company will no longer have space to rehearse and perform at Harvard.

"The nice thing about the Union is that it was a space that was under the auspices of the Freshman Dean," Engel said, adding that he enjoys working with first-years through the program. "There aren't other spaces at Harvard that can be taken off-line from undergraduate use for [a long] period of time."

Construction will begin this spring to convert the Union into the Humanities Center.

Troubles aside Nathans stressed that Annenberg Hall will have some advantages over the Union.

"Without question, Annenberg Hall will be a beautiful and impressive facility, one that speaks in its design and architecture to the heritage of the University, and in its use to its present and its future," she wrote in an e-mail yesterday after-noon.

"Without destroying the essential character of the space, the renovation could not provide for the flexible dining and mealtime meeting areas we have enjoyed in the Freshman Union," she continued. "We have understood from the start that this would be the case; in so far as possible, we have tried to provide in the Yard common room and meeting room spaces for first-year students."

Lewis wrote yesterday in an e-mail that many of these concerns will have to wait until the facility opens.

"On all these questions we will have a lot to learn from experience," he said. "Certainly the limited amount of meeting space is a concern for everyone, both students and faculty."

Undergraduate Council members interviewed yesterday said the inter-house restrictions and crowding could be problems.

One first-year said he is not sure there will be crowding because he does not usually see all the seats in the Union filled.

"I would say at any given time about 200 of the seats [in the Union] are empty," said Ali Ahsan '99. But "during peak hours, you might have that problem."

Brian J. Chan '99, a council representative, said that the long lines may actually prevent crowding inside.

"Whether [crowding] will be a problem depends on how fast the line moves," Chan said. "Given current Union speeds, it's doubtful that more than 617 people will ever sit at one time anyway."

A Quad resident said that lunch could be hard with no interhouse at Annenberg.

"As someone who lives in the Quad, it's definitely going to be more difficult in terms of lunchtime for people who can't get back to their own dining halls," said Currier House council representative Melissa G. Liazos '96.