Secure Your Flotation Device

It's that time of your again. Spring is in the air, midterms are winding down, and the mangled bodies of students attacked and gored by their roommates and former friends are littering Harvard Yard once more. Yes, that's right--as of this week, the Class of 2002 has divided itself into "blocking groups," the groups of up to 16 roommates and friends who will be randomly assigned together to the upperclass Houses, and just this morning, their housing assignments were revealed.

Blocking leads to shattered friendships, painful spring months spent living with the very same people who were deemed not cool enough and were "voted out" of group, and, in the fall, sophomores incapable of doing anything remotely social on campus without bringing along their 16 closest friends. And then, of course, there are the "floaters," students whose friendships split along awkward fault lines, forcing them to jump into the cracks and "float" into a new House without the comfort of familiar faces. As the innards strewn across the Yard indicate, the process is a blast.

Seasoned senior Rebecca C. Weiss '99, observing the unbridled success of the blocking process among rising sophomores and the unease with which current seniors are approaching their next housing crisis, has made the following suggestion: What if seniors were to block for next year?

Many seniors find the mere thought of leaving college so intimidating that they will do anything to secure themselves a new home filled with people who share their ages and their interests--even if it means working for Microsoft. A blocking process for seniors would efficiently alleviate these fears, allowing everyone to move into their new lives with the comfort of their 16 closest friends.

A "randomized" process for senior House assignments might be a good idea, ensuring that all Houses have a diverse population. After all, some seniors have already begun the blocking process, and many are choosing to block with people similar to themselves--like the investment banking blocking group, for example, or the high-tech blocking group, or the Harvard Law School blocking group. Of course, if housing were randomized, seniors would be taking their chances. Those landing in one of the (Hudson) River Houses needn't worry, naturally, since many blocking groups will be assigned there. If your group gets stuck in Minneapolis House, though, you had better like your blockmates. Still, as The Unofficial Guide to Life After Harvard will tell you, every House has its charms. Sophomore housing in Manhattan House is rumored to be awful, for example, but the senior (citizen) suites there are unbeatable.

Many students complain about the inconvenient location of Random British University House, but it's really not so far away, and the airline shuttles run all the time. Washington, D.C. House has an overly active House Committee (or several) and a huge House Formal every four years in January, but the upperclass people there are really backbiting and gossipy, and lots of folks transfer out. Once in a while, of course, a senior will decide to move "off-campus," abandoning the Houses altogether to trek through the Gobi Desert or teach English to Bolivian squirrels. Off-campus life can be isolating, but many find it rewarding. And unlike in the Houses, you have to cook all your own food.

Unfortunately, no such secure blocking mechanism for seniors has ever been implemented. Even if we retain a friend or significant other or roommate or two, all of us who are graduating this spring must face the fact that we will, by and large, soon find ourselves in somewhat randomly assigned homes where it will be incumbent upon us to meet the upperclassfolk and deal amicably with whatever neighbors we might have. Our destiny is sealed. As Weiss has posited, we are all floaters.

Floating has a horrible reputation. People only choose to float when they are left with no other options, and the fact that they have no other options makes others come to the easy conclusion that floaters are pathetic social outcasts with no lives. Perhaps some of them are. But the truth is that floating requires incredible bravery, along with a deep sense of reality. In reality, we are all randomized, thrown together more or less arbitrarily. Floaters know that, and they make the best of it.

The truth about blocking, like most things during the first year of college, is that it seems incredibly important at the time, while it actually ends up having little to no effect on anyone's life. Many seniors today would have to ponder for a while if asked to name all of their original blockmates. Still more would shudder to think of the blocking groups they once begged to join. Real friendships are not things that one can write down on a list, or classify according to importance on a scale of one to 15, or decide based on a majority vote. While some people may be blessed with a group of friends that lasts a lifetime, most find themselves in circles that constantly shift as their lives change.

True friendship comes from the ability to connect with another person independently, outside of a group, and from the excitement of finding out what that person might be able to contribute to your life and you to his or hers, whether it's just someone to exercise with or someone who will alter your future dreams. But to find that friendship, you have to be ready--and willing--to float.

As of today, every undergraduate on campus has been through the blocking process, and it will take some time for the scars to heal. But whether you are a rising sophomore preparing for upperclass life or a senior preparing to face next year, do yourself a favor. Muster all of your courage, practice your swimming skills, secure your flotation devices--your talents, your wisdom, your self--respect-and set sail to enjoy the adventure. Someday, when you drop anchor on a new and stunning shore, you'll be glad you did..

Dara Horn '99 is a literature concentrator in Eliot House. Her column appears on alternate Thursdays.