For Eliot House Master Stephen A. Mitchell, a long-time foe of randomization, the change will make the Houses more diverse, letting randomization live up to its name.

But for many students, the change stirs up bitterness from the decision to randomize the House system.

Undergraduate Council President Noah Z. Seton '00, a student representative to the COHL, said yesterday that he was disappointed by the decision. Although he said one or two of the other student representatives to COHL might have supported the decrease in blocking size, Seton said the council has traditionally been firmly against any lowering of the number of students per blocking group.

"With randomization, people should be able to block with whoever they want," Seton said. "I'm not sure that this will be the cure-all they hope it is."

Seton says he hopes the change in the size of the blocking groups will add momentum to the council's campaigns to get universal keycard access for all the Houses and to equalize House resources.