Make the House a Home

It is a perennial complaint: there just isn’t enough social space on campus.

Figures released over the past two weeks indicate that student interest in Greek Life on campus is at an all-time high, which, in our view, suggests that there is a clear need for the sort of social space to which everyone is welcome.  Although sororities and fraternities are not as aloof as the final clubs—which have historically infused social life on campus with a culture of exclusivity and elitism—they nevertheless rely on gender-divisions and thus fail to provide any stimulus for the development of the larger cohesive community Harvard lacks.

True, anti-final club groups intermittently petition the Undergraduate Council to address the social space issue, and it is the subject of far too many dining-hall lamentations about the weekend’s party prospects. Unfortunately, however, the most frequently proposed solution to this perennial problem has been the construction of a student union, a regular feature on other campuses across the country.

Two years ago, for instance, the UC attempted to raise funds to purchase 45 Mount Auburn Street for $4 million.  They created a “Social Space Task Force” and tried to raise the requisite $600,000 necessary for a down payment. The project, however well intentioned, failed, as has every other attempt to create a new social space on campus.  It is now clear that any efforts to build, buy, or borrow a new space will take years to organize and would probably be unsuccessful. Also, should such a student union ever be constructed, it would likely be met with ambivalence, as it would probably not be used for the sorts of events that draw students en masse in the first place.

The time has thus come for the tenor of the discussion to change.

The real answer to the social space question lies not in the search for a new space, but in the revitalization of an old one—the upperclass houses.  These centers of student life have the potential to become the vibrant intellectual and social communities that they used to be, places on campus that were more than overcrowded, anonymous dormitories and dining halls. If the Houses became in reality what they are supposed to be in theory, we believe that social space would no longer be as much of a campus concern as it is today.

Unfortunately, house life—and the College’s support of it—has suffered in recent years, as the 2007 cancellation of the party fund and the recent institution of Beverage Authorization Teams reveals.  Yet, these microcosms of the University are already well established, and, though underutilized, would be the most effective channels through which to improve the social lives of all students.  The remarkable diversity in the house communities is the ideal framework off of which to build any successful social community on campus.  After all, houses are inclusive whereas off-campus options are often exclusive; houses combine the intellectual and social components of the college experience; and houses are communities to which everyone at Harvard—not just a select few—belongs.

Moving forward, house social life would benefit by advertising more often directly to freshmen, who undoubtedly suffer the most from the lack of social space.  They would serve as ideal candidates for an invigorated house social scene, attending Stein Clubs and other events whose potential is high but attendance is low.  In fact, many freshmen are utterly unaware of the existence of such events.  By inviting and including these new students, houses would thus generate the kind of year-round interest and excitement that currently seems reserved just for Housing Day.

On that note, as we near the frenzy of house placement, we should strive to bring the camaraderie, excitement, and fun of the season to the rest of the year.  There is no conceivable reason why houses should only be true social communities for one day a year.

In the search to improve our social lives, we shouldn’t look outside; instead, we should embrace the houses in which we already reside.

If we don’t, those houses may never be the homes they should and must become.