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Page 12-The Michigan Daily Magazine
Dorms Will Be Dorms
And at MIT, They Are
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By DAVID KESSEL
Daily Staff Writer
THE prospect of living in Uni-
versity dormitories seems to fill
large numbers of men hereabouts
with something less than enthusi-
asm, although it could be said that
a hard core of conservatives views
the present situation with a cer-
tain degree of improbable delight.
For the benefit of the soft core
of perfectionists who imagine that
more desirable circumstances exist
somewhere in this land, let me re-
count certain aspects of dormitory
living, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology style, which prevailed
during the 1948-1952 era. It should
be noted by eager young transfer
hopefuls that much of the follow-
ing has since been modified, but.
that the memory lingers yet.
Unlike the rather curious house-
mother-maid system which seems
to prevail herg, MIT dorms are
occasionallyhdusted anddswept by
porters who regard the inmates
not as mere soilers of linen and
spillers of beer, but as companions
in the vast spectacle of sin and
corruption called "life".
T HE ENTERPRISING student
would bribe his porter withI
gin and cheese sandwiches, engagei
in long conversations about by-I
gone days, and generally seek aid 1
and companionship from this man
for two reasons.
First, the porter who was your
friend was less likely to report
horrible infractions of the few
existin- rules to the authorities;
second, the porter could get extra
soao and blankets for his student
friends, and might, in extreme
cases, even dust the room with
something more effective than the
usual damp mop.
A token regulation against food
preparation in dorm rooms was
almost completely forgotten amid
a profusion of hot plates and re-
frigerators filled with rare old
cheese and moldy salmon.
SOME OF THE rooms of rare
individuals were sghts to be-
hold. Motorcycles, stolen coca-cola
machines, drill presses, rifle col-1
lections, band saws, transmitters1
(legal and illegal), and pizza ovens
could be found if you knew where
to look.. Large fa' ilies of cats,
rats, and even an alligator roamedl
the halls, more or less co-existing4
in a somewhat immoral fashion,l
as did we all.Z
A plea for more quiet during thei
evening hours by a certain student
leader brought, during the eveningt
after this unfortunate request, a1
mass demonstration of major pro-i
prtions, with bonfires between!
two of the dormitory units, gaso- I
line burning here and there, home-
made bombs of great effectiveness
and mobs of undergraduates mill-
ing about, culminating the
dousing of the student leade with
a pail of water when he chanced
to look out his window.
BUT FOR ALL the abuses -" this
free and easy system, itmust be
said that the entire picture was
generally a satisfactory one. Men
were able to consider +1-.,r dorm
rooms as their own, with no tool
pigeons living within shotgun
range.. Excess energy was chan-
nelled into attempted- wreckage
of well-built dormitory units and
the surrounding region~s; mostly
grassy fields of great resilience.
The people of Boston may have
often noted unusual -,ctivity across
the river, but they were seldom
bothered by it.
While the housing problem here
is complicated by large enroll-
ments and a room shortage, it is
hoped that the future will bring
an arrangement which will some-
how improve- matters. When a
man can only be alone with a girl
in a Union. Snack Bar booth,
when his dorm room must be
treated like a loan from Conrad
Hilton, and when normal hell-
raising inclinations result in a $10
fine and a warning, the situation
can only get better.
STUDYING A PLEASURE-Card tables here replace the desk
supplied by the dormitory, accidentally burned in a demonstration,
.
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