Into the City

As her roommates fluff their hair and brush their cheeks, Linda J. Moon '99 looks on from her bedroom door.

"We're all doing the black dress thing. Maybe I should wear my vinyl pants after all," Moon says.

The roommates, Quincy seniors, prep for a night at the Lansdowne Playhouse, a Boston club.

The absence of men from the dancing venture does not discourage them from the usual primping ritual shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday night.

"If it's just with women you go out to meet guys," Moon says. "You know, you go out with your girlfriends."

The seniors say they used to go to Harvard parties, but are in need refreshment after three years in the Square.

The crowds and heat of Harvard parties are not their only drawbacks: sometimes Harvard men drive older women to the city.

And many college men are only eyeing underclass women.

"Now that we're seniors a lot of guys throw their own parties to meet younger women," Jaime K. Chambron '99 says.

"For senior girls you want to date older men," she says, adding that women tend to mature faster than men.

After three years their class has sorted itself into couples and those who will probably remain single through graduation. Classmate dating prospects just do not excite them as much as they used to, Chambron says.

"I think that people at Harvard are really goal-oriented and don't have time for relationships," says Moon.

"You know the old saying, 'At Harvard it's either marriage or hook-ups,'" she adds.

Men may have a wider array of choices when they set out for a night on the town. Women's choices are restricted to room parties, braving the city's bar or club scene, or being invited to someone else's club.

"Guys have another place to go than just their dorm rooms. A lot of them have their own clubs to go to," Chambron says.

The women say they do not go to town looking for relationships: they go because thedating game is fun to play.

"I feel like its more fun to pick up guys whenyou're in a group," says Jennifer Marquardt'98-'99. "It can be more like a game because it'snot really serious."

Marquardt, Chambron and Nicole A. Bailey '99picked up their clubbing habits while in Spainthis summer.

"They party a lot more," Bailey says, addingthat on the continent, clubs stay open until 7a.m. rather than Massachusetts' puritanical 3 a.m.

Another attraction to clubs is the dancing,which is often lacking in Harvard's crowded suites("I wouldn't go to a partitioned party!" Moonsays.)

"You sometimes want to see who can dance withthe most guys. We did that in Spain," Marquardtsays. "I think it builds a sense of solidarity."

In terms of mingling, Bailey says men are morewilling to approach her when she is in a group ofwomen.

"I thought I was going to be standing bymyself, but five guys came up and asked me todance. You meet a lot of interesting people," shesays. "I met a teacher, a salsa professor."

On other nights though, these seniors feelsafer bringing their own partners.

"The nights when it's salsa and Latino it'sbest to go with guys," says Chambron. "They'recouple dances. You could dance with random guysbut they're kind of sketchy.

"I feel like its more fun to pick up guys whenyou're in a group," says Jennifer Marquardt'98-'99. "It can be more like a game because it'snot really serious."

Marquardt, Chambron and Nicole A. Bailey '99picked up their clubbing habits while in Spainthis summer.

"They party a lot more," Bailey says, addingthat on the continent, clubs stay open until 7a.m. rather than Massachusetts' puritanical 3 a.m.

Another attraction to clubs is the dancing,which is often lacking in Harvard's crowded suites("I wouldn't go to a partitioned party!" Moonsays.)

"You sometimes want to see who can dance withthe most guys. We did that in Spain," Marquardtsays. "I think it builds a sense of solidarity."

In terms of mingling, Bailey says men are morewilling to approach her when she is in a group ofwomen.

"I thought I was going to be standing bymyself, but five guys came up and asked me todance. You meet a lot of interesting people," shesays. "I met a teacher, a salsa professor."

On other nights though, these seniors feelsafer bringing their own partners.

"The nights when it's salsa and Latino it'sbest to go with guys," says Chambron. "They'recouple dances. You could dance with random guysbut they're kind of sketchy.