TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 1968
Coeds in Town
Officials, Student Leaders
Divided on Residence Rules
She stretched her legs gracefully in
front of her and lit a cigarette. Offering
the pack to the reporter, the Dean of Wo- -
men sank back into the chair, and, frown
ing a little said, "I'm a realist. We can't
have' more girls living 'in town because the
dorms must be kept full. It is strictly for
economic reasons." She took a long drag
on the cigarette, then continued.."lt's not
a question of the girls' ability to operate
an apartment. Any girl at this University
could handle an apartment, even a fresh
man. They, do it in the summer, when they
study abroad, and when they- student
teach."
Oppresiive Responsibility
Dorothy Harris then paused, engross
ed in a thought. As dean of women at the
University,- she is respOnsible for how the
7,000 women students are housed. Her job
was not always as complex as it is now.
When the University first opened its
doors to 'women .in .1871, Rebecca Ewing
and Ellen Cross were granted admission
as day students. As their number grew, the
first coeds were housed in the Women's
Building which still stands behind Old
Main. The first women's residence hall,
Irvin, was built in 1929, and as the student
population expanded, was followed by
Atherton Hall in 1938, Simmons-McElwain
in 1948, and McKee Hall in 1949.
It was an accepted fact then that all
women who could afford it lived in dorm
itories, and those who couldn't found
rooms,in town.
In the belief that University women
needed the protection of a residence hall
the Board of Trustees set up a policy that
stated, "All undergraduate women stu
dents admitted to the main campus of the
University shall be assigned to University
operated residence halls and dining halls,
except for reasons judged to be satisfactory
by the officers of the University."
The officer designated to administer
the trustee policy was the Dean of Women.
According to a form presented by the DOW
office, the Administration has interpreted
the policy to mean that "both full and part
time single undergraduate women who are
degree candidates and who are under the
age of 23 shall reside in residence halls."
More Women, More Dorms
To accommodate more women-students,
as well as the multiplying number of men
students, the- University built additional
Collegian Open House
What's a 1967 Olds
doing in this
1968 Olds advertisement?
I;i1
It's making the point that you
can own an Oldsmobile. If not
a new one, then certainly a
used one.
Like the nifty 1967 Olds 4-4-2
you see here. Or a sporty used
Cutlass convertible maybe.
Drive a youngmobile from Oldsmobile.
( New or used,its a fun car to own.)
dormitories. South tails was cOmpleted iri
1956, North Halls in 1957, Pollock in 1958
and East Halls in 1966. The University
plans to stabilize the student population at
25,000 and there are no plans to build. any
more dormitories. But as' one problem is
solved,, another takes shape.
The Administration's interpretation of
the Trustee policy is_being questioned and
women students, especially .21-year-old
seniors, are asking why they shouldn't he
allowed to live off campus.
The Administration has reason to op
pose the idea.
"It's a vicious circle,'." said Mrs. Lor
raine O'Hara, assistant dean of women.
"We could not have accepted so many stu
dents without providing housing for.them.
Now that we have the dorms, we have to
keep them full, for economic reasons."
The economic reasons cited by Mrs.
O'Hara , are complex. The University builds
its own dormitories and the General State
Authority, which does most building for
the State, constructs only administration,
classroom and laboratory buildings on
campus. The University gets no money
from the State to build residence halls ,or
provide food services. It must borrow mon
ey through bonds, in which banks, insur
ance companies and private citizens invest.
These bonds are amortised over a period of
sometimes 40 years, so that several gen
erationS of students will pay for the dorm
itories, as well as the entire food service
operation through their room and board
fees. The University has a strong commit
ment to pay off these bonds, and .thus the
urgency in keeping the dormitories full.
A Few Exceptiops
There are exceptions to the Trustee
policy; Undergraduate women who have
reached the age of 23, married,undergrad
uate women and women students living
with their parents are automatically ex
empt from the residence hall living re
quirement.
Some conditions require individual at
tention .by the DOW office. According to
Mrs. O'Hara two justifiable reasons for a
girl to live downtown are full time employ
ment or residence with relatives or family
friends. But the primary reason a girl asks
permission to live downtown, Mrs. O'Hara
said, is because of a health problem that
makes residence hall life unfeasible: such
as an allergy that requires air-conditioning
or a diet that excludes most dining hall
of other brands on their
Value-Rated used car lot.-And
should you decide on one of
them instead ... well, at least
we'll know you picked a good
place to do it.
THE DAILY CObLEGIAN, UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA
00,i,• o . ted:,:by :014 Main.
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"THE DORMS musk be kept full .. . strictly for economic reasons," is the reasoning be
hind the Administration's ruling that coeds must live in University dormitories.
Another reason is financial need. A
coed who can prove she can't pay the $295
per term combined room and board charg
es can arrange for cheaper living quarters
in town.
Mrs. O'Hara contended that one of the
University's major gripes •against letting
more women out is that it would take
room space from men living in town.
"If you let the senior girls out you
have to call the sophomore men back.
Since the number of sophomore men is
greater than senior women, we would have
to set up rules saying Which men can move
out and which ones can't," she explained.
It's not that the Administration is
against changing the rule, Mrs. O'Hara
said, but it must have - a workable plan to
be sent to - the Board of Trustees. She re
ported that two years ago the Administra
tion seriously considered adinitting enough
new students to balance the senior women,
to keep the dormitories full. But an. inves
tigation showed there was a lack.of class
room space and enough professors.to teach
the lower level courses
.'"Other schools h
concerning student hi
Wednesday,
April 3
7 - 8:30 p.m.
ye an
__open • policy
using, but they most
THREE HOURS of SOUL!
SAM and DAVE
Hear . e . Soulrnan, Hold on I'M Coming, Funky Brodawayl
Thursday,, April 18th
DAVIS 'GYMNASIUM BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY
likely are in towns and cities that can had
dle more off-campus living. If we had an
open policy, more apartments might be
built, but they would probably be more
expensive. Also, the workers in the new
industries - and shopping centers in State
College are taking some of the low cost
housing away from the students," said Mrs.
O'Hara:
Nettany Co-op
Of the approximately 100 girls living
in town now 19 live in a boarding room
situation at the Nittany CO-OP, at 244 E.
Nittany. Ave. The cost of the CO-OP is
$193.50 per term, and most of the girls are
there becatise of financial need. Each. girl
has work duties in the, house - weekly. A
cook prepares meals for the girls, as well
as for the 20-40 men from rooming houses
who eat at the CO-OP at a low rate. In ex
change the men also have work duties and
the use of the downstairs rooms.
The rest of .the girls find their own
rooms.
.The University does not recom
mend rooms and apartments for the girls
downtown, Mrs. O'Hara stated, nor does it
have a list of approved places. But the girls
must comply -with certain stipulations set
up by the University, Perhaps the most
intqfratern \ ity
of Bucknell University
Tickets available: at door or at Penn State
through Greg Goertner phone 238.1912
210 1 / 2 W. Beaver Ave.
--- presents ---
«i`
153 SEE
EERIE
By Pat Gurosky
Collegian
Administration Re porter
MffffMM
important of these is that an unmarried
women ,student cannot live in the same
building where there are single men. This
eliminates all apartment buildings, and as
a result most of the girls live in the older
,rooming houses,
The girls are also asked by the Univer
sity_to comply with the dormitory closing
.hours, "in fairness to the girls on campus,"
Mrs. O'Hara said. No one from the Univer
sity 'checks up on the girls, Mrs. O'Hara
added, but they must have an adult spon
sor in the building _where they live. This
sponsor could report a girl's activities to
the University, which' has the right to call
a girl back from her apartment to a dorm.
TIM Opposition
Opposing the University's policy on
off-campus living for women is Edward
Dench, president of the Town Independent
Mens Council. Dench also heads the Under
graduate Student Government Off-Cam
pus Living Committee, which has been in
vestigating the feasibility of more town liv
ing for women.
Fall Term the committee distributed
a questionnaire through the Association of
Women Students to all junior women at
the University. In the survey the coeds
were asked:-
1. whether they would be 21 when
their senior-year started,
2. whether they would like to live
downtown during their senior year,
-. 3. whether their parents would allow
them to live doWntown,
4. if their financial situation would
\permit them to live off-campus and
• 5. whether they would still be willing
to live downtown if they had to commute
a distance of two miles or more by car.
Of the surveys returned, Dench report
ed that only 300 senior girls who were 21
would and could live downtown if permit
ted by the' University, and 164 of these
would be willing to commute two miles.
"The main problem now is that girls
just don't believe that they can get out of
the dorms," he added.
Dench said that the committee wants
to get- rid of the "old-fashioned, outdated
regulations" thatrule girls off-campus, es-
pecially the one' prohibiting girls from
renting rooms in buildings where there
are single men. _
- "These regulations were devised in the
(Contifzued on page sixl
Council
WILSON PICKETT
'8:00 P.M.
$4.00 per person
PAGE THREE
MEM