Master's View: By October's End You'll Swear Your House Is Best

Bruce Chalmers, Master of Winthrop House, is the only Master who also sits on the Committee on Assignments. He has made a major innovation in the House system by introducing lower-level Gen Ed courses within Winthrop House, and is a leading proponents of the new assignments system.

One of the consequences of the Harvard system of the freshman year in the Yard, and then three years in a House, is a prolonged period of uncertainty, and perhaps anxiety, as to House assignment. A major advantage of the system is that it provides the opportunity for the mutual selection of roommates for the following three years. They may be, but more often are not, those assigned for the freshman year. It is recognized that the first priority in House assignment is to avoid separating such groups.

Some freshmen (and there is no way of knowing how many) develop a preference for one of the houses. In the past, they were required to state their first, second, and third preferences, on their applications, and this led to choices that were sometimes based on little more than the flip of a coin. Once the choice had been formulated, it assumed increasing importance; and, for the 40 per cent who did not get their first choice, some sense of disappointment was inevitable. There were, on the other hand, some who had strong reasons for wanting to be in one House rather than another. However, because their "vote" was no stronger than the others, their chance of achieving their objective was diluted. Under the system that is being used this year, you are not required to express a preference, and indeed to do so requires the minor, but real, efforts of writing to Dean Monro, telling him of your choice and your reasons for it. Your letter will be a basis for assignment if it shows a "substantial reason" for your choice. "Substantial" obviously must remain a relative term until the Dean has at least some idea of how many letters he will receive. If he receives very few, he may well accept them all; if, on the other hand, he receives a great many, it will obviously be necessary for him to disregard a high proportion in order that the desired distribution may be achieved.

One of the features of the House System that is concealed by the "folk lore" is the extent to which the eight residential Houses are similar; they all have just about the same mix of scholastic ability, athletic prowess, social and geographical background, and political, literary, musical, or artistic commitment. Each has a Master, Senior Tutor, and staff who work hard to make their House of focal point for a wide varsity of intellectual and social activities. All participate, with intermittent success, in intramural athletics and have some representation on the varsity teams. All are overcrowded, and the frequency of complaints about the food is about the same everywhere; and although the rooms differ somewhat, there is no unanimity as to which is better.

Each House is small enough to be able to respond to the ideas and enthusiasms of its students as well as of its staff, but is large enough for anyone to find kindred spirits, and to form and develop the friendships that are often one of the most durable parts of Harvard's extracurricular dividends. Each has its distinctive tone and style, and will, I believe, not lose them as each Master chooses his own staff to complement his own personality. So it is clear to me that each of the Houses contains all the physical and administrative equipment needed for it to got fulfill its purposes. If, in addition, its student body is a representative cross-section of Harvard College, it should form a stimulating and congenial environment for that very important part of a Harvard education that takes place outside the classroom.

If this were the whole story, the Houses would be identical, and it would not matter which you are in; and, no doubt, a monotonous level of efficiency would lead to a loss of enthusiasm. But the Houses are not identical; each has its own characteristics, both real and legendary--the two often do not coincide, as legend has a way of referring to the past. A few Houses are characterized as more "friendly" than others: participating in various activities is encouraged more in some than in others: some are strong in music, or drama, and some have particularly outstanding tutorial staffs in one field or another; and some have extensive programs of speakers from outside, while others depend more on their own resources. These differences are emphasized--and perhaps over emphasized--in the articles which follow. It would go a long way to defeat the whole purpose if the Houses specialized, for example, in athletics, or music, or politics.

This while the Houses are certainly by no means identical, each has such rich content that, unless you are a specialist in an activity in which a particular House is uniquely strong, it should not make much difference which you are in; and even then, it might be more exciting to be one of the people to develop a new strength in a House. Unless you are a chronic rebel, the chances are very good that, by the end of October, you will be convinced that yours is the best House.