For scores of students who live in the Quad, going home to eat is not always feasible. This year, in particular, it has become much more difficult to find a place to eat, as Adams and Lowell have cracked down on the number of non-resident they allow in their dining halls. As a result, Houses such as Quincy that welcome all students to their dining hall are unfairly squeezed.

The spirit of randomization, however, was not to make the Houses microcosms of the overall College only to have them walled off to other students. The point was to foster an environment that could include any and all kinds of students.

I do not make this argument to pick on Adams--their House continues to show a strong community spirit (that I don't believe has anything to do with their dining hall). Also, as masters go, theirs have been particularly good. During the famed Adams-Pforzheimer war last year, Adams gave Pforzheimer the right to eat in their dining hall at all times after losing a series of challenges to the Quad House. Indeed, other Houses that have recently created Interhouse restrictions are equally as culpable as Adams.

So long as students do not have a voice in where they will live, they deserve to use commonly-funded resources in the Houses in equal numbers. That banning Interhouse restrictions may make it seem harder to build House community is unfortunate, and I am sympathetic to the challenge. However, House community is created and fortified not only in the dining hall, but also in House-wide events like study breaks, outings and intramural sports--all of which use House-specific funding and can be made exclusive if necessary.

Indeed, there are plenty of ways for dining halls to play key roles in strengthening House community without resorting to erecting barriers to keep other Harvard students out. Winthrop House, for example, has long encouraged House residents to congregate in the dining hall at night by offering late-night beverages even before Brain Break came into play.

If the issue is really about House community, then Houses with Interhouse restrictions need to work a bit harder to create community in other ways. If the issue is that some residents have difficulty finding a seat in their House dining hall, I have three great suggestions of places where they'll be welcomed with open arms: Cabot, Currier and Pforzheimer.

Scott A. Resnick '01 is an economics concentrator in Cabot House. His column appears on alternate Wednesdays.