Eating With the "Breakfast Club"

Sunlight filters in through the large windows, reflecting off the empty wooden tables. A few students, sitting alone, stare outside or read quietly as they eat.

The Freshman Union, normally one of the noisiest and most crowded places at Harvard, is very different at 7:30 a.m.

Each morning, about 15 students trickle into the first-year dining hall, looking for warm food and a rare oasis of peace and quiet in a stressful day.

"I'm usually here," says Mercedes F. Pared '98. "It's so quiet. Nobody's here. It's nice to have no one around you."

At the Union and other dining halls, the early morning students are mostly regulars, forming a "breakfast club" of solitary eaters.

People can roam around the Union serving area gathering various portions of breakfast without worrying about smashing into fellow diners. At 7:30, the top row of holders still has plenty of glasses, a rare bounty for the Union.

The long tables are mostly empty, and an air of calm, fills the room. Newspapers, textbooks and notebooks fill table space that is usually packed tray-to-tray later in the day.

Clothes-wise, anything goes at early morning breakfast. Some people sport ties and neatly-combed hair, others wear sweats and ponytails with scrunchies. Some people have gotten up early, others, with slightly glazed-over expressions, haven't been to bed.

Union checker Lorena Vicente says she recognizes "most of the people. Every year it's the same." She turns away to swipe a student's card, greeting the undergraduate by name.

If the "breakfast club" did have a president, it might be Annabel L. Bradford '98. Many students point her out as someone who's "always here." She says breakfast attendees vary.

"It's kind of irregular. A lot of people get up if they need to study," Bradford says. "It's the three meals a day type thing. If you don't get up, you miss the morning."

While most members of the breakfast club sit alone, a few groups of two or three students are scattered throughout the Union.

"Everyone sits by themselves and reads," says Jenny S. Lin '98. "Sometimes there'll be one person at every table."

Fellow first-year Tine V. Katopodes smiles mischievously. "Sometimes a group comes in and we can all listen to their conversation."

Other Chapters

The early morning breakfast club has more than one chapter. In fact, each house hosts its own regulars, and each offers a slightly different atmosphere.

Lowell House, for instance, seems to offer more early-morning conversation. Students tend to sit in pairs, chatting quietly over coffee or quizzing each other for tests later in the day. Some pairs share a companionable silence.

At Eliot House, people space out one to a table to study or simply gaze around.

Lee M. Paolillo, the Lowell checker, says she opens the hall by 5:45 a.m. every morning and makes coffee. A few students show up to study, she says.

The Quiet

For all the chapters of the breakfast club, the quiet is the most noticeable difference between the early morning and the rest of the day.

The silence is the reason most people refrain from hitting the snooze button one more time.

"It's quiet," says Laura T. Meyer '98. "It's the most normal meal."

The peace makes early-morning breakfast a good time to study, students say.

"I'm the most productive in the morning," says Barak Ben-Gal, a junior in Quincy House. "I wake up an hour and a half before breakfast begins. [I like] the quiet. It's a private time. It lets you organize your day."

Leah J. Kronenberg '97, also of Quincy House, agrees. "It's quiet so I can study. I feel like I've done something in the morning."

The Food

Another attraction of early breakfast is the food. There are no lines, and every menu item can be found. At the Union, the basic foods table has full containers, and trays of doughnuts and muffins are still full.

"There are always enough bagels," says Brooke S. Donovan '98. "If you come at 9:30, there aren't enough. It's important."

Bradford agrees.

"The bagels, they're good," she says. "They don't have them at other meals."

Pared says the food early in the morning doesn't boast the usual dining hall staleness.

"Sometimes the food's actually better. The muffins are warmer," she says, gesturing with the half-eaten corn muffin in her hand.

But as students get older and perhaps more stressed, the early morning food interest seems to shift. In the houses, students seem to go for the coffee before the carbohydrates.

"I really like getting up for the gourmet coffee," Kronenberg says. "The coffee is what gets me out of bed."

The Work

Every morning, however, the regular groups are augmented by last-minute studiers.

"I come to breakfast, but not this early," Lowell House resident Esther Safre '97 says. "I have to study." She has a spiral notebook in her lap and papers surrounding her tray.

Paolillo says Lowell's breakfast is packed during exam periods.

Lowell House resident Jean M. Hammel '97 is surrounded by textbooks and class notes for an Orgo exam.

"I come whenever I have a lot of work," she says. "It's not as stressful as the library."

Quincy House resident Vinh X. Truog '95 has breakfasted each morning for the past two years, "mostly to do work. I get to sleep early."

And Crimson editor and Lowell House resident Samuel J. Rascoff '96 is up for the same reason. "There are no disturbances, no roommates and no noise," he says.

Despite the hot eighties movie of the same name, it's doubtful that Harvard will ever have an official "breakfast club."

The potential members aren't there for social conversation or adolescent bonding, but for the lack thereof.

And it would never be a big club, anyway: Many more potential members, like first-year Brooke S. Donovan, would refuse to join.

"If I didn't have to, I wouldn't wake up this early," she groans.CrimsonJennifer L. SmitVINH X TRUOG '95 grabs some cereal for breakfast in Quincy House.

Fellow first-year Tine V. Katopodes smiles mischievously. "Sometimes a group comes in and we can all listen to their conversation."

Other Chapters

The early morning breakfast club has more than one chapter. In fact, each house hosts its own regulars, and each offers a slightly different atmosphere.

Lowell House, for instance, seems to offer more early-morning conversation. Students tend to sit in pairs, chatting quietly over coffee or quizzing each other for tests later in the day. Some pairs share a companionable silence.

At Eliot House, people space out one to a table to study or simply gaze around.

Lee M. Paolillo, the Lowell checker, says she opens the hall by 5:45 a.m. every morning and makes coffee. A few students show up to study, she says.

The Quiet

For all the chapters of the breakfast club, the quiet is the most noticeable difference between the early morning and the rest of the day.

The silence is the reason most people refrain from hitting the snooze button one more time.

"It's quiet," says Laura T. Meyer '98. "It's the most normal meal."

The peace makes early-morning breakfast a good time to study, students say.

"I'm the most productive in the morning," says Barak Ben-Gal, a junior in Quincy House. "I wake up an hour and a half before breakfast begins. [I like] the quiet. It's a private time. It lets you organize your day."

Leah J. Kronenberg '97, also of Quincy House, agrees. "It's quiet so I can study. I feel like I've done something in the morning."

The Food

Another attraction of early breakfast is the food. There are no lines, and every menu item can be found. At the Union, the basic foods table has full containers, and trays of doughnuts and muffins are still full.

"There are always enough bagels," says Brooke S. Donovan '98. "If you come at 9:30, there aren't enough. It's important."

Bradford agrees.

"The bagels, they're good," she says. "They don't have them at other meals."

Pared says the food early in the morning doesn't boast the usual dining hall staleness.

"Sometimes the food's actually better. The muffins are warmer," she says, gesturing with the half-eaten corn muffin in her hand.

But as students get older and perhaps more stressed, the early morning food interest seems to shift. In the houses, students seem to go for the coffee before the carbohydrates.

"I really like getting up for the gourmet coffee," Kronenberg says. "The coffee is what gets me out of bed."

The Work

Every morning, however, the regular groups are augmented by last-minute studiers.

"I come to breakfast, but not this early," Lowell House resident Esther Safre '97 says. "I have to study." She has a spiral notebook in her lap and papers surrounding her tray.

Paolillo says Lowell's breakfast is packed during exam periods.

Lowell House resident Jean M. Hammel '97 is surrounded by textbooks and class notes for an Orgo exam.

"I come whenever I have a lot of work," she says. "It's not as stressful as the library."

Quincy House resident Vinh X. Truog '95 has breakfasted each morning for the past two years, "mostly to do work. I get to sleep early."

And Crimson editor and Lowell House resident Samuel J. Rascoff '96 is up for the same reason. "There are no disturbances, no roommates and no noise," he says.

Despite the hot eighties movie of the same name, it's doubtful that Harvard will ever have an official "breakfast club."

The potential members aren't there for social conversation or adolescent bonding, but for the lack thereof.

And it would never be a big club, anyway: Many more potential members, like first-year Brooke S. Donovan, would refuse to join.

"If I didn't have to, I wouldn't wake up this early," she groans.CrimsonJennifer L. SmitVINH X TRUOG '95 grabs some cereal for breakfast in Quincy House.