After three years of convincing and cajoling the administration, and of posturing and promising the student body, the Undergraduate Council appears poised to deliver on one of its oldest promises--Universal Keycard Access (UKA)--to all 12 upperclass Houses.

If all goes as the council has planned, the Masters of all 12 Houses will convene at University Hall this Wednesday and agree to open their doors to any upperclass keycard in the College. The decision, says council President Noah Z. Seton '00, could be implemented by the time students return from winter break.

With Eliot House's 143-35 vote last Sunday, all 12 House Committees have now voted to endorse the move to UKA. The council whisked through legislation expressing their approval of UKA last night and, most importantly, Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68--once lukewarm to the idea of UKA--is now one of its most ardent supporters.

"I'm now persuaded that the safety arguments [about UKA] are at worst neutral and probably are in favor of UKA overall. And other considerations are strongly in favor of it," Lewis wrote in an e-mail message.

It is unclear whether a few recalcitrant House Masters may stand in the way of the proposal. Last night, Winthrop House Master Paul D. Hanson told The Crimson that he did not anticipate a change in his House's limited UKA policy.

But Seton says he is confident the measure will pass--and soon.

The outlook was not always so rosy.