"I think that we can inform them when they gethere in the fall in a formal way," he said in lateMay.

Members of the class of 1999 interviewed saidknowing about the decision would not have affectedtheir choice to come to Harvard.

"It's a significant thing once you're there,but it's not an issue before you get there," saidAgeliki V. Kyriakopoulos, a member of the class of1999 from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Those contacted about the issue generally saidthey could see both sides.

"I can say I like diversity, but I canunderstand I would be upset if I ended up in ahouse I didn't like," said Massy Tadjedin of YorbaLinda, California.

One entering first-year said while having achoice is appealing, not having to make one wouldalleviate stress.

"Having a choice also adds another pressure,"said Geoffrey C. Upton from Queens, New York."Having no choice means there's less to worryabout when the time comes. It's not a big deal forme."

Allowing first-years to focus on choosing aconcentration instead of choosing a house was anargument put forth by many house masters in favorof randomization.

One incoming first-year said not havingrandomization essentially allows Harvard to have"theme housing"--people of a certain race or withcertain interests living in one dorm--like someother colleges.

"Some colleges consciously choose to have thatkind of theme housing," said Rosslyn Wuchinich, aManhattan resident who will be a first-year in thefall. "Harvard doesn't have it, and if theadministration doesn't want it, it makes sense notto have it be done informally [through the presentsystem]."

Some pre-frosh did say having a choice wouldenhance their undergraduate life at Harvard.

"If you're happy in your surroundings, you'regoing to be a successful person," Kyriakopoulossaid.

Alumni Letters

One major form of student protest against thedecision, according to Benjamin H. Torrance '95,founder of the Coalition Against Randomization, iswriting to the presidents of Harvard Clubs acrossthe nation. Torrance said a few weeks ago he senta letter to his home Harvard club in Sacramentoand urged other students to do the same for theirhome cities.

"I think if enough alumni come through--writeto Jewett or call Jewett--and express some sort ofoutrage about this decision, that would make adifference," Torrance said.

But two presidents of Harvard Clubs reachedlast week said they had not yet received such aletter.

"I spoke to a couple people on the board today,and nobody brought that up yet," said DesmondWong, president of the Harvard Club of Chicago. "Ihave not received a letter."

If Robert E. Schauer, outgoing president of theHarvard-Radcliffe Club of Los Angeles, doesreceive a letter, he said he is not sure whetherhe will send it out to the 1,100 members in hisarea.

"The most likely thing that would happen is youmight print an excerpt of it mentioning it's anissue at Harvard," Schauer said. "I don't know ifit would be a good thing for us to take a positionor not, because as an alumni club we're not hereto joust with the school. The next president mightfeel differently.