Fifteen Minutes’ Top 15 Places to Cry on Campus

You know what time of the year it is — midterm season! Which never stops once it starts. It is also seasonal depression season, which, before you know it, blends into finals season ... you get it.

Many tears will undoubtedly be shed. Luckily, we’ve got you. Here’s our curated list of the best places to cry on campus.

In a friend’s (or lover’s) arms <3 🫂

Sometimes a person is a place. Normalize interdependence.

In front of the John Harvard statue 🗿

Why not kill two birds with one stone and have your breakdown while giving tourists raw, unfiltered footage of what the real Harvard experience is like? Call it a “performance art display” for contemporary college student mental health awareness.

Your own room 🛏

A classic. Privacy, tissues, your comfort animals ... what more could you ask for? (Note: Those of you living in doubles can do this, too. Assert dominance. Slowly, both you and your roommate will become inured to them walking in while you’re sobbing your eyes out. Not speaking from personal experience!)

Lamont 📚

This one requires no explanation. Plus, now that the cafe is open, you can get yourself a lil post-cry treat.

Weeks Bridge 🌅

At dawn or dusk, this bridge remains the mecca for angsty college students. Stare across the river and pretend you’re yearning for something more, enveloped in the sound of the cars behind you. Be the broken main character. Romanticize the sadness.

Harvard Divinity School 🧘

Fairly quiet and peaceful. Maybe you’ll also have a spiritual awakening.

Music room in your house 🎵

Soundproof walls to muffle your sobs. Cons: Doors are transparent, so you can still be perceived.

Smith Center bathroom stall 🚻

Another classic. Bonus points if you’re alone in the bathroom. Bonus bonus points if you’re able to stare at yourself in the mirror while you cry (simultaneously humbling and validating — what Maggie Nelson said about being witnessed in our despair).

The Mather tunnels 🔦

Perfect horror movie-esque atmosphere to set the mood. Thick, ugly walls. Let it out.

The Quad overnight shuttle 🚌

This was also on our Top 15 Places to Make Out list. Make of that what you will.

Jefe’s 🌯

Whether you’re crying about the night’s many horrors or about the fact that you’re in a long line, drunk and hungry, this one’s a classic. It’s a bit of a public scene, but at 3 a.m., who’s to judge?

The Sunken Garden in Radcliffe Yard 🪻

On top of being fairly isolated, this garden is also picturesque, so you can pretend to be a heartbroken character in a movie while you cry among the flowers.

Cabot Science Library Cubicles 🧪

Unfortunately, another classic. But be warned: They’re not as soundproof as claimed to be!

On a stationary bike at the gym 🚴

Put on “Moon Song,” stare at yourself dejectedly in the mirror, and do what needs to be done. You won’t even be able to tell where the tears end and sweat begins.

The Loeb Drama Center 🎭

Tears don’t always have to be sad! From The Great Comet to Heathers, there have been some real tear-jerkers there.