‘I’m So Blessed’: Freshmen Recount Housing Day, Revamped River Run

Despite accidentally breaking the laptop of a Lowell House upperclassman during a River Run party the night before Housing Day, freshman Matthew M. Vu ’27 felt “blessed” on Thursday morning as he and his blockmates celebrated with dorm-storming Lowellians donning whistles, pompoms, beads, and bells.

On Housing Day, one of Harvard’s most cherished annual traditions, freshmen are randomly sorted into the College’s 12 upperclassmen Houses. Upperclassman representatives from each House “dorm-storm” Harvard Yard early on Housing Day morning, clad in merchandise and chanting House slogans.

Vu mistakenly broke the laptop while participating in River Run, a tradition where students enter all nine Houses by the Charles River the night before Housing Day — with many taking a shot of alcohol at each House — in order to avoid being placed in the Radcliffe Quadrangle.

“I broke someone’s laptop, but they let me in,” Vu said about being welcomed into the Lowell community. “I’m so blessed.”

In a change from previous years, the Dean of Students Office enabled freshman ID swipe access to River Houses on the night before Housing Day.

Despite having swipe access, some students elected not to use their swipe for certain houses to experience the thrill of climbing a gate — historically one of the only ways to enter certain Houses on the night of River Run.

Max Wagner ’27 and his friends attempted to climb a gate behind Mather House until upperclassmen started throwing cans of water at them from the third floor of the building to prevent them from entering.

But A. Rhys Greenland ’27 said “there were no obstacles” in his River Run experience.

“I had fun walking around. It’s like grown-up trick-or-treating, except you’re looking for something other than sweets and there’s no adults around,” Greenland said of River Run.

In the absence of administrative restrictions, some freshmen took the opportunity to create their own River Run traditions. Soaking wet from Wednesday night’s rain, Teodore G. Malchev ’27 and his blocking group decided to end their night submerged in the Charles River.

“We entered the river walking and ran inside,” said Malchev, who will not be living in a River House next year. “It was fun — I don’t regret getting into the river. We were trying not to get our faces wet, of course.”

In another change from previous River Runs, the DSO provided food trucks outside of the Malkin Athletic Center for students participating in the tradition.

“Moving stuff to the MAC quad was a really great way for students to engage in the energy of the night,” Dean of Students Thomas Dunne said in an interview Thursday morning in Annenberg Hall, the freshmen dining hall. He added that this year’s River Run and Housing Day “felt really inclusive.”

Students participating in "River Run" gather around food trucks near the Malkin Athletic Center. Dean of Students Thomas Dunne said this year's Housing day festivities "felt really inclusive." By Ike J. Park

When freshmen woke up to their housing assignments on Thursday morning, emotions ranged from joy to disappointment.

Dmitry Bilous ’27, described his Housing Day experience as “very depressing,” adding that he and his blockmates “all cried.”

Bilous and his blockmates were placed in Pforzheimer House, one of the three houses located a roughly 15 minute walk from the river in the Quad.

Some upperclassmen who live in River Houses decide to misleadingly chant the names of the less-desired quad houses as they approach freshman rooms. Future Adams House resident William A. Hu ’27 said his heart “sank” when he and his blockmate Nate Y. Zhang ’27 heard chants of “Pfoho” from the hallway.

“I had heard the stories of people from non Quad Houses chanting Quad Houses, but I was doing the mental chess in my head, like, ‘Are they trolling, or are they not?’” Zhang said.

Greenland said he felt “nothing” when he learned of his Leverett housing assignment.

“I actually bet my mom about it, so I’m up thirty bucks,” he said.

Regardless of initial reactions to their assignments, many freshmen were determined to try to think positively of their new home.

“It could be worse, it could be better,” Rishi V. Purohit ’27 said of Eliot House. “By the end of today, I’ll think it’s the best House”

—Staff writer Natalie K Bandura can be reached at natalie.bandura@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Azusa M. Lippit can be reached at azusa.lippit@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @azusalippit or on Threads @azusalippit.