"I think this event will shake up what those outside the house think of the event, more than it will change what the residents think," Boulware says.

But the fashion gala has to be approved by the house committee before it can become a reality, says House Committee Co-Chair Jason Grillo '97.

Most people in the Eliot House dining hall last night, members of an older guard, took a tolerant if not quite enthusiastic attitude toward the idea.

"I would encourage them to do as they like, but personally I wouldn't go," says Charles "Clay" Daniel '97.

Others suggested that the show might have a better chance of success in a house with a different character.

"At Adams they would like it more," according to another senior.

But several people say the house is already not as stodgy as its reputation would indicate.

"Last year the masters participated in a drag performance of Madonna's 'Vogue,'" says Eliot resident Praveen Akuthota '97.

And one senior pointed out that several of the most active house members in the Class of 1996 were gay.

Forsgard says that she and House Master Stephen A. Mitchell bring to Eliot experience with randomization, since they were both tutors in North House, now Pforzheimer, during the '80s, an unpopular time for the dorm.

"There was no house that was less popular than North House before the renovations," she says.

"I remember seeing students in the Yard crying when they found out they were in North House."

Conflict in Pfo-Ho

Pforzheimer House, a reputed haven in recent years for pre-med students seeking a quiet place to study, is the site of an early clash between the needs of entering students and those of well-established residents.

Yesterday morning, Pforzheimer residents awoke to find an e-mail message from House Administrator Sharon Holt warning them against loud music, particularly late at night.