For the first time in Harvard's nearly 350-year history, the students moving their sofas and Mao Zedong posters into the river houses in 1971 were not only Harvard men. Among the movers this time were women.

That year, Radcliffe undergraduates participated in the first full co-residency program between Harvard and Radcliffe--changing Harvard's living arrangements forever. The exchange expanded on a small pilot program begun the previous semester.

Co-residency in the fall of 1970 meant that women were allowed to move from the Radcliffe Quad to the houses, while men were allowed to relocate to Radcliffe.

Swap rooms were allocated using lotteries of interested men and women.

Rooms in the houses, which tended to be organized in large, airy suites containing bathrooms, were considered more desirable than housing at Radcliffe, where rooms were often on a long hallway with communal bathrooms. Because of the comfort factor, as well as the considerable distance between the academic buildings and the Quad, many women were anxious to move to the river.

However, the allure of living among hundreds of women and the novelty of the situation drew some men to venture to the Quad.

Co-residency, a hotly debated issue among Harvard and Radcliffe administrators at the time, was the result of the "non-merger merger agreement" of 1971, which further solidified the relationship between Radcliffe and Harvard.

Under this agreement, the precursor to the main merger agreement of 1977, Radcliffe kept its endowment and continued to over-see the Schlesinger Library, the Radcliffe Seminars, the Radcliffe Alumnae Association and the Office of Alumnae Career Services.

Quite significantly, Radcliffe also retained control over the Offices of Admissions and Financial Aid, as well as its buildings and capital.

As part of the agreement, Harvard acquired responsibility for managing Radcliffe's day-to-day operations, like facility maintenance and dining halls, in return for all undergraduate tuition payments.

Despite the administrative changes, however, the co-ed dorms were the most obvious sign of the accord.

A New Experience

Many men who suddenly shared an entryway with Radcliffe women found that co-ed living shattered the stereotype of the Radcliffe student.

"[Co-residency] meant there was a lot of demystifying of 'Cliffies as a group," says Barry M. Wright '71, now a psychologist in Grand Ledge, Michigan. "Before, they were seen as very rich, very bright and not very attractive. In reality, it was much complex than that."

Because of the positive relationships co-ed living fostered between men and women, students who lived in co-ed dorms during the first year of the program overwhelmingly remember their experiences fondly.