‘A Huge Hit’: Seniors Give Positive Reviews for Class Committee’s First Initiatives

Harvard’s Class of 2026 marshals have only thrown one party so far — but after a sold-out night and rave reviews from many attendees, they say they’re looking forward to another semester of lively events.

Tickets ran out for the Class Committee’s first event of the year, a “Harvard-Yale kickoff” party hosted last Wednesday at The Lansdowne Pub, an Irish bar in Boston, according to first class marshal Charisma W. Chen ’26 in an interview one day before the event.

The event was moved from its planned location, Boston country bar Loretta’s Last Call, due to higher-than-expected interest in attending the event, according to the event page. It drew approximately 500 attendees, according to second class marshal Mohan A. Hathi ’26.

“We sold out of tickets for Loretta’s, so we’re already looking at great buy-in from the class,” Chen said, adding that the committee received “record high” participation on a survey soliciting ideas from seniors sent out in October.

“In general, it seems like this class is very excited and bought-in,” Chen said.

The Class Committee is composed of 17 student marshals who were elected by their peers or appointed by the Harvard Alumni Association. Led by Chen and Hathi, the committee is responsible for recruiting a Class Day speaker and planning alumni events in addition to organizing social gatherings for seniors.

The early momentum for the Class of 2026 stands in contrast to events organized by last year’s Class Committee, which received lukewarm reviews from graduating seniors who said low attendance dampened the mood.

By this time last year, the Class Committee for the Class of 2025 had already hosted three events, including a spikeball tournament, picnic, and an event at the sports bar Game On! Though some current seniors said that they wished the Class Committee had hosted more events throughout the fall, students spoke in largely positive terms about its initiatives so far.

The Lansdowne event was “a huge hit,” said Raghav Mehrotra ’26.

“Stuff with live music is always fun,” he added.

“I went to the event that they had this past Wednesday and I felt like it was really fun and everyone there was really enjoying it,” Kimberly “Kimmy” G. Thompson ’26 said.

“It was the first time that I felt a little bit sad, just because I saw so many faces that I knew,” Thompson said.

The Class Committee also launched “Match 13” — a Halloween spin-off on the traditional match-making survey sent out to seniors during Senior Week. According to the Class Committee’s Instagram, the survey received 919 responses.

“​​I personally loved this idea and that it was integrated into the class committee’s programming based on feedback from the senior class. Releasing matches during Halloweekend was also awesome,” Amiya E. Tiwari ’26 wrote in a text.

The committee is also tasked with organizing Senior Week, the last week that seniors spend on campus before they graduate. But Chen and Hathi said that hosting events during the term is a priority — well in advance of Commencement.

Events only concentrated during Senior Week are “less conducive towards creating new friendships and connections,” Chen said. “The earlier we put on events and whatnot, the earlier people can start to connect with new members of the class or members of the class they haven’t met yet.”

“If you can have more events spread out, you can build up the anticipation for Senior Week,” Ben R. Shryock ’26 said.

Chen said that this year’s Class Committee has an advantage because the marshals span “so many people from different pools and spheres on campus,” allowing the committee to reach students within different social groups.

When the marshals were tabling to advertise for the Lansdowne dance, “it was so awesome because among the people at our table, we probably could recognize all the seniors,” Hathi, a Crimson News editor, said.

For some seniors, the real test will arise during the spring semester and Senior Week.

“I feel like Senior Week is especially going to be important. That’s when everyone really comes together,” Shryock said. “If you have a random class with someone your sophomore year, you can actually go back and talk to that person.”

—Staff writer Harmony G. Fisher can be reached at harmony.fisher@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Darcy G Lin can be reached at darcy.lin@thecrimson.com.