Walk into Grays M-24, and you'll get a fuzzy CBS. In DeWolfe 20-25, however, the reception's perfect--and everyone's enjoying ESPN.

Transmission quality and channel selection on Harvard's campus ranges from cable access to tin-foil antennas, from more than 50 features to the big three--maybe. Other rooms choose not to watch the tube at all.

This week, the Yale College Council announced that every dormitory room will be hooked up with cable service at the start of the next year.

Thanks to an off-again, on-again debate between the Undergraduate Council and College administration, Harvard houses may get wired as early as next semester.

Man With A Plan

Philip A. Bean, manager of the Dean of the College's office, who has been conducting research for the Committee on House Life (COHL), says there is an "outside chance of limited cable access" by this fall.

According to Bean, the College would target House common areas--specifically junior common rooms--as the beneficiaries of an arrangement with the local cable provider, MediaOne.

The deal would be a marked change from the late '80s, when Bean says the College found cable offerings cost-prohibitive.

"It was a one-two-three punch," Bean says, noting that past plans stipulated that the College would have to pay $240,000 to instal internal wiring, guarantee a 50 percent subscription rate and coordinate billing.

While the Mather House common room and several tutors' suites have gained cable access, older Houses have had to maintain their historical integrity--which means no external alterations without University and city approval.

DeWolfe is the only undergraduate dormitory with cable access in individual suites. Currently, more than half of the Houses enjoy cable access in common spaces.

Bean says he has had limited contact with MediaOne and hopes to negotiate a lower cost should general installation come to Harvard.

"The way it's framed right now, it's not in anyone's interests but the cable company's," Bean says.

MediaOne representative Patrick Stewart says his company is open to exploring possible plans in cooperation with the University and can install wiresunderground if necessary to avoid marring Housefacades.

As for installation costs, Stewart says, "inmost cases, we'd probably split it [with theUniversity]."

We Want Our MTV