Council Report Questions Policies Behind Rent Rise

No stand on either side of the room rent issue came out of the Council investigation which brought its report to Provost Buck and Vice-President Reynolds this week.

The three-page document questioned the University policy that the Houses must be self-sufficient but called the answers to its query "beyond the scope of the committee." The report was written for the Council by Robert L. Fischelis '50.

Deconversion of the Houses as College enrollment drops off will aggravate the problem of financing the House system, the committee pointed out. The University's stand that the Houses must pay their own way and contribute $100,000 annually to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences may in the future "make the cost of living in them prohibitive to some and may cause hardship to others."

The problem is not a temporary one, the Committee emphasized.

Cannot Reduce Costs

The committee held out little hope that annual economies might reduce the costs of operating the Houses. Electricity and heating costs have gone up in the past months with the increased price of coal, according to Fischelis, and there is doubt that any meter system would save enough to offset the cost of administering it.

No increase in janitorial or maintenance staffs have been made in spite of the increase in House population, the report pointed out. The cost of maid service is only $22 per man per term, the committee found, indicating that it considered this cost cheap and its value high.

Outside Funds

Outside funds that might be applied to House budgets, Fischelis' report stated, might come from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Provost Buck, to whom the report was submitted, indicated that no funds were available for reallocation.