Monro Cites Advantage to Radcliffe Of More Independence From College

Dean Monro suggested last night that Radcliffe's close dependence on Harvard, both academic and extra-curricular, is harmful to itself, though a benefit to Harvard.

This was the highlight of a Student Council Forum on the question, "How Close Should We Be to the 'Cliffe?" held in the Winthrop House Dining Room. Other panelists were Dean Frances R. Brown of Radcliffe, and Masters Elliot Perkins '23 and David E. Owen of Lowell and Winthrop Houses.

With Harvard an increasingly "vocational" college aimed at preparing its students for postgraduate work, Monro said, the education it offers has become less suitable for women, whose main postgraduate function will be that of "homemakers."

He urged that Radcliffe try to keep some "room for maneuvre and experimentation" in its curriculum, instead of simply grafting itself onto Harvard's academic structure as it has done in the past. A broad liberal arts education, free from some of the high-powered departmental requirements imposed at Harvard, would be better for a women's college, Monro recommended.

Vocationalism at Harvard

Dean Brown and Master Perkins, however, stood up for Radcliffe's offering a man's education to women. Nowadays a woman must be prepared to make her own career, claimed Perkins, and Dean Brown stressed that Radcliffe's influence might be helpful in restraining vocationalism at Harvard.

As for extracurricular activities, Monro pointed out that newspaper and dramatic work at Radcliffe have been largely starved to death by girls' participation in parallel Harvard groups. The Dean implied that it is not entirely natural for the girls to come to the boys to such an extent.

Mixed Tutorial Called Livelier

Much of the rest of the discussion was devoted to the recent affiliation of two Houses with Radcliffe Halls. Owen, whose Winthrop House has associated with Comstock Hall, emphasized that mixed tutorial leads to livelier sessions. Here he clashed with Perkins ("The place for women is in the home, but, with one exception, it is not my home."), who underlined the disadvantages of involving more people in the already over-crowded House system.