Houses Meet and Greet New Members

First-years crisscrossed the Yard early yesterday morning, shouting cheers as they hurried to share their housing assignments with friends.

From about 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. yesterday, first-years received notice of their new homes for the next three years of College.

“It was the first time that we had woken up that early in awhile,” said Daniel A. Koh ’07. According to Koh, however, after finding out he was placed in Winthrop House, it was well worth the early rise.

“Winthrop is a nice community with a cozy dining hall,” said Koh, whose blockmates include Andrew B. Casey ’07, Jason M. Degnan-Rojeski ’07, David A. Sanford ’07, Erich V. Scheller ’07, Clinton M. Siegfried ’07, John F. Voith ’07 and Robert M. Yribarren ’07.

After the initial exchanges, students banded together with new housemates and trekked to Annenberg, the first-year dining hall, to take part in their annual welcoming to upperclass life. All 12 residential Houses—including for the first time Adams House—were present, and members from each House shook salutatory posters, chanted and all but attacked their incoming sophomores.

“I thought it was one of the most spirited things I’ve seen at Harvard,” said Sarah C. Duncan ’07. “We definitely had drunk upperclassmen coming up to us saying, ‘Does your House have this? Because ours does.’”

“I think everybody should be happy with the House they have, instead of saying, ‘Our House is better than yours,’” said Duncan in a statement that echoed the back of the Quincy House t-shirt. The back of the t-shirt, given to new Quincyites, read, “DAMN RIGHT, It’s Better Than Yours,” alluding to the Kelis’ hit single “Milkshake.”

Last night, Duncan and her blockmates set sail to a flaming pink and green shoebox boat emblazoned with “Adams” and “Eliot” in large letters, hoping to persuade fate that they belonged in a River House.

The ritual seemed to have worked since the blocking group, which also consists of Stefanie L. Botelho ’07, Julia M. Chandler ’07, Gayatri S. Datar ’07, Maura A. Graul ’07 and Kathleen E. Walro ’07, will live in Lowell House next year.

While inevitably some were at first disappointed by their housing assignments, other blocking groups also succeeded in getting their top choices.

FALSE ALARM

At 6 a.m. yesterday, Ashley M. Nathanson ’07 didn’t wake up to the sounds of screaming that generally accompany the release of housing results, but instead to a fire alarm.

Following a long night of pre-housing rituals, complete with a manifesto and a toast to each of the River Houses, Nathanson was exhausted by the earlier than expected start.

When her blockmates from Lionel Hall and Matthews Hall woke her up for the second time to inform her of their new home, she had been battling with her alarm clock’s snooze button for several minutes.

“I couldn’t even read [the housing letter] because everyone was grabbing at it,” said Nathanson.

“Woohoo, we’re not in the Quad. Second reaction, woohoo we’re in Lowell,” said Kathryn C. Gluckman ’07, Nathanson’s blockmate, of their reaction to the news.

Lowell House was the first stop on this blocking group’s “River Run” Wednesday night.

“Superstitiously, absolutely, it was great we started off in Lowell last night,” said Jessica R. Rosenfeld ’07. who along with Nicholas A. Molina ’07 makes up the last two members of the blocking group.

Across the hallway in Nathanson’s Canaday A-entryway, the sentiment was less than enthusiastic.

“The girls across the hall got Cabot,” Nathanson said. “It was really hard to contain our emotions.”

IN THE QUAD

Others also found themselves Quaded yesterday.

“We were pretty bummed,” said Matthew R. Conroy ’07, a Stoughton resident who was assigned to Cabot House. “We didn’t want to get the Quad and the girls upstairs got Lowell.”

Instead of engaging in traditional River rituals, Conroy and his blockmates decided to stay in last night playing games in their dorm.

“I think we were less scorned by those [River] gods and more entrapped by the demons of the Quad,” said Conroy.

Matthew R. Lynch ’07, Conroy’s blockmate, said there was a silver lining.

“I wasn’t happy I was in the Quad, but the size of the rooms and the community of the Quad make up for it,” he said.

Wednesday night, Conroy and Lynch’s blocking group, which also includes Charlton T. Volpe ’07 and George T. O’Brien ’07, said that being placed in Dunster House was worse than the Quad.

“Dunster will burn down to the ground before we get into it,” said Lynch Wednesday night.

HOUSEWARMING

After learning of their new Houses, the first-years were greeted by upper class students and House Committees (HoCo) in Annenberg.

Upon entering the dining hall, first-years were confronted by a barrage of posters and were sprayed with water—courtesy of Currier House. A Mather House sign read, “Puke in your own House!” while a Cabot posters state, “More Singles, More Sex.” Amidst the hoopla, the Houses also distributed their signature t-shirts to the first-years.

Among these signs and shirts, Adams House stood out.

This year, Adams House made their grand appearance at the Annenberg welcoming first-years their for the first time, according to HoCo Co-Chair Gina M. Bruno ’05.

“As far as we know, Adams has never gone,” she said.

Bruno said Adams HoCo decided to go to Annenberg after polling their House.

“Today was really fun. I’m really glad we went,” she said.

Throughout the day, HoCos also held events to welcome the first-years into their new House communities.

Quincy House Co-Masters, Robert P. Kirshner and Jayne Loader, had an open house dessert event in their residence, while Lowell House Co-Masters, Dorothy A. Austin and Diana L. Eck, had an afternoon tea.

Although slightly disappointed by being placed in the Quad, Lynch enjoyed the festivities and the spirit of the day.

“I found the House rivalries to be quite interesting, almost comical,” said Lynch.

—Staff writer Adam P. Schneider can be reached at aschneid@fas.harvard.edu.