Handy's 25 years with Dudley House show in students' opinions of her.

"I come in there with questions all the time," Cohen said. "Margaret Handy...she's the greatest resource."

"She's one of the most helpful people on this campus," Cohen said. "She usually has the answer to most questions, and if she doesn't have an answer, she tells you where to go.

Use of the House staff in general varies.

"I've used my fellowship tutor frequently," Adair said. She said she visits Lehman Hall about three times a week.

Esposito said he uses House resources less frequently.

"What do you use a House for? If it's not the place you live in, it serves as an intermediary between you and the registrar," he said.

"The way I feel about it is I haven't found a way to get what I needed out of the House advising sytsem but I've figure out how to get through basically on my own," he said. "So what that leaves for what I'd need from a House is the technical details."

By the beginning of November, Cynn said, she had gone to Dudley House about 3 or 4 times that year.

Cohen said he goes to Dudley House about four or five times a week; he uses its dining hall, computer lab and game room--which is stocked with two pool tables, two foosball tables, a ping-pong table, a TV and a VCR. He also uses the "body-sized locker" in the basement to store books, clothes and a towel.

Randomization's Impact

Students predicted that Harvard's randomized housing policy, implemented in 1996, may bode well for Dudley. Some expected that, with students lotteried apart from their friends and into undesired Houses, the decision to move off-campus or into the Dudley Co-op will become more popular.

Adair suggested another reason to expect an increase.

"Harvard house life is not particularly ideal for non-typical Harvard students," she said. "With randomization, there's a tendency for minority students to move off-campus to find a community that's completely supportive."