Randomization Creates Larger Blocking Groups

First-years will trudge to the Science Center today to submit their blocking forms for the first fully-randomized housing lottery in Harvard's history.

Today marks the culmination of nearly a quarter-century of debate over student housing, which has focused on questions that include diversity of student life, house character, student choice and first-year stress.

The class of 1999, however, has a more immediate concern: where will they live next year and with whom?

Under non-ordered choice, the conventional wisdom was that students who formed smaller blocking groups would be more likely to secure one of their top choices for housing. But the end of any form of choice has students more concerned with choosing a group of friends to block with rather than selecting a house.

Dean of Freshmen Elizabeth S. Nathans says she expects blocking groups to be larger, although she says she cannot present any concrete evidence until the rooming forms are submitted.

"I have a very impressionistic sense that the groups are growing," Nathans says. "I'm hearing about larger groups than in the past, more groups of sixteen."

Large Groups

The majority of the more than 30 first-years interviewed for this article say that their blocking groups would have been smaller under the non-ordered choice system.

In the past, smaller groups that received poor lottery numbers could still get one of their top housing choices if the groups with better numbers were larger.

But with the new system in place, students say they are choosing to join larger groups.

"If we had a better chance of getting a good house we would have chosen a much smaller group, like eight," says Cody C. Tibbetts '99, who is part of a blocking group of 16.

And Greg R. Halpern '99-'98 says his group of 13 "would definitely have been smaller" by four or five people.

First-years, like Tibbetts and Halpern, say that without the knowledge that other blocking groups of friends would be in the same general area if they put down the same houses, they wanted to increase the number of people they blocked with.

"The five of us roommates would have blocked together, but we might not have joined up with another large group," says Thomas M. Fallows '99 who is part of a group of 15. "We figured as long as we're going to get randomized we might as well have taken a large group [with us]."

Some first-years say that the need for creating large groups has even led to the inclusion of people that they do not know very well.

"I have a blocking group of 15 to 16, only four or five of whom I know well", says Alex C. Band '99-'98. "The people in my group are my roommates' friends and friends of theirs--under the old system I would have had a group of no more than six or eight".

Maximum Size

College administrators last year said they anticipated large blocking groups and decided to shrink their maximum size from 20 to 16 in hopes of increasing diversity in the houses.

But many first-years say the change is unfair, particularly in light of the move to complete randomization.

"We got jacked", says Zack C. Phillips '99. "They should put the limit back where it was or even higher".

Like Phillips, Dana B. Bennett '99 says she prefers larger groups.

Bennett says she has made a number of good friends through social events and extra-curricular activities, like the Black students Association, whom she would like to live.

But Bennett says her choice was severely restricted by the maximum limit--she says a 20 or even 30-person limit would be more appropriate.

"We know most of the people pretty well, and there were others who we also knew well that we wanted to include but couldn't," Bennett says.

Simplifying the Selection?

Former Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57, who made the final decision to randomize last fall, said at the time the new system lessens stress on first-years during the busy spring term.

But many students say the decision is still not an easy one to make.

"You still have to pick the people you want to live with", James E. Lenhart '99 says.

Other students offered more complex views on differences in forming blocking groups before and after randomization.

"Last year, blocking groups would have split up over wanting to live in different places", says Rachel L. Weber '99. "But it also offered a way of sectioning people out of the group without hurting their feelings".

"All in all, this way forces you to be more honest which I guess is good", she says.

Jay H. Lee '99 says the administration is to blame for the anxiety surrounding rooming.

"They make this out to be a stressful experience", says Lee. "But they blow it up, hype it up, way out of proportion and that's what causes a lot of the stress".

Some students, however, particularly those in the smaller blocking groups say they have not been affected by the change.

"We have a group of four, two of them are from my entryway", says one first-year who did not want to be identified. "This is surely the size we would have chosen, even without randomization. We would have disagreed on where to go, but we would have worked it out somehow"

Maximum Size

College administrators last year said they anticipated large blocking groups and decided to shrink their maximum size from 20 to 16 in hopes of increasing diversity in the houses.

But many first-years say the change is unfair, particularly in light of the move to complete randomization.

"We got jacked", says Zack C. Phillips '99. "They should put the limit back where it was or even higher".

Like Phillips, Dana B. Bennett '99 says she prefers larger groups.

Bennett says she has made a number of good friends through social events and extra-curricular activities, like the Black students Association, whom she would like to live.

But Bennett says her choice was severely restricted by the maximum limit--she says a 20 or even 30-person limit would be more appropriate.

"We know most of the people pretty well, and there were others who we also knew well that we wanted to include but couldn't," Bennett says.

Simplifying the Selection?

Former Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57, who made the final decision to randomize last fall, said at the time the new system lessens stress on first-years during the busy spring term.

But many students say the decision is still not an easy one to make.

"You still have to pick the people you want to live with", James E. Lenhart '99 says.

Other students offered more complex views on differences in forming blocking groups before and after randomization.

"Last year, blocking groups would have split up over wanting to live in different places", says Rachel L. Weber '99. "But it also offered a way of sectioning people out of the group without hurting their feelings".

"All in all, this way forces you to be more honest which I guess is good", she says.

Jay H. Lee '99 says the administration is to blame for the anxiety surrounding rooming.

"They make this out to be a stressful experience", says Lee. "But they blow it up, hype it up, way out of proportion and that's what causes a lot of the stress".

Some students, however, particularly those in the smaller blocking groups say they have not been affected by the change.

"We have a group of four, two of them are from my entryway", says one first-year who did not want to be identified. "This is surely the size we would have chosen, even without randomization. We would have disagreed on where to go, but we would have worked it out somehow"