Dean of the College archie C. Epps III saysthat in 1980, the College studied Harvard minoritystudents. At That time, Epps says, the percentageof Black students in some of the houses was fargreater than the percentage of Black students inthe College.

This year the college admitted 215 Blackapplicants out of a total of 2,112 admitted forthe class of 1999. Black students have averagedabout eight percent of the College for the lastfive years, according to College administrators.

Epps says the housing situation in 1980 shouldnot be compared with today.

"[There were] separate tables that wereenforced as separate," the dean says. "I thinkthat it's a much more fluid situation now."

By 1986, after the administration "had a seriesof discussions with the BSA and were clear in thepress that we hoped people would help us withdiversifying their choices," the percentages ofBlack students in the houses roughly matched thepercentage of Black students at the College, Eppssays.

He adds that in today's system, the phenomenonof ethnic grouping is not a system widephenomenon.

"To describe our current pattern of residentiallife, we have a system where there are someexamples of critical masses of Blacks students,but I do not think this is a phenomenon that youfind throughout the house system," Epps says. "Idon't make any assumptions about the quality ofthe interaction between Black and white. The idealis to have some balance throughout."

The latest figures available from the Collegeindicate that in 1992 the concentration of Blackswas extremely unbalanced. Two unspecified houseshad 17 and 13 percent Black populations, comparedto 12 and 11 percent in 1989. In one house in bothyears, the population of Blacks was just fourpercent.

Minority students make up 33 percent of thestudent body, but in one house in 1989 theminority population was 54 percent. The lowestpopulation was 20 percent.

Despite this apparent imbalance, which many saystill exists, some students interviewed saystudents should be able to choose to live withother students sharing similar ethnic backgrounds.

"It sounds sort of like separatism, but it'simportant to note that this is a response to thefact that the needs of students of color have notbeen met on this campus," says President of theAsian-American Students Association Irene C. Cheng`97.

"If you're a student of color and you feeluncomfortable in the presence of these old-boynetworks, final clubs, things like that, thenstudents need to be given some way out of that,some response and one response is to formcommunities of people who are supportive," sheadds. "It's not the same thing as white peoplewanting to live together."

Despite administrators efforts to increasediversity, many students say that living withpeople of different ethnicities and backgroundsdoes not guarantee interaction.

"I assume [the administration's] main goal isracial or ethnic diversity," says Adams HouseCommittee Chair William C. Gallaga '95. "In theoryI understand, although I don't understand how it'smore [diverse] to have tables in each house ratherthan a large group at the Quad."

Drake says that having ethnic minoritiesdistributed evenly across the houses just for thesake of diversity is a token move.