Let Them Swipe

Almost like a grating and unnecessary rite of passage, Harvard first-years traditionally have had to find upperclass students to swipe them into most Houses. Thankfully, the days of idle first-years huddling around entryway doors and House courtyards on Saturday nights may soon be over. Last Wednesday, the Committee on House Life (CHL) proposed that House masters allow first-years keycard access to all the Houses. While ideally, the masters would approve 24-hour universal keycard access (UKA) for all students, the extension of keycard access for first-years is a step in the right direction. And the arguments for adopting UKA are the same as those for extending keycard access to the first-years. Like upperclass students, first-years should be able to swipe into all 12 houses from 8 a.m.-2:30 a.m. seven days a week. Wider access provides safety and convenience without any negative side effects.

The most critical reason for masters to approve the CHL recommendation is that House keycard access for first-years will boost overall campus security. Rather than fortresses of solitude, Houses can be refuges from danger should first-years feel threatened on the streets of Cambridge. And the knowledge that all Harvard undergraduates have access to the Houses will provide an added measure against potential criminals who ask to be swiped in to Houses. If all students know that the Houses are hospitable to all undergraduates, the students would be rightfully more suspicious of persons asking to be swiped in or looking to piggy-back into dorms.

The convenience that keycard access provides to first-years is another, albeit less important, reason to provide them with this privilege. First-years will no longer have to endure long waits outside House entrances trying to visit friends, go to meetings or attend parties. Wider keycard access will also remove the burden for upperclass students who have to descend to their Houses’ outer doors to let in their friends. Making Houses accessible to first-years will make all lives easier and remove the unnecessary barrier between first-years and their upperclass peers.

While some masters fear that providing access to first-years will lead to a dilution of House community, the experiences of five Houses that already grant first-years keycard access—Cabot, Pforzheimer, Leverett, Lowell, and Quincy—suggest otherwise. It is hard to argue that the presence of first-years freely entering Houses to meet with friends and attend parties will in any way lead to a breakdown of the House community. Instead, wider access will foster greater undergraduate connectedness and will better prepare first-years for House life.

In the end, denying keycard access to first-years doesn’t prevent the patient and resilient students from getting into the Houses. Barring keycard access to first-years serves no purpose, and should not continue. The benefits of extending access, including increased campus security and sheer convenience, and the absence of justifiable objections, makes passage of the CHL proposal an imperative for the House masters.