In Defense of Floating

As the approach of Housing Day strikes fear into the hearts of excited freshman and dominates Annenberg buzz, some people choose to block with their favorite people - themselves. Blocking alone, or floating, is universally dreaded in the Harvard community and seen as a failure to bond with classmates over dhall tater tots and stat psets.

Although floating is considered even more shameful than being bae-less on Valentine's Day, there are definitely some perks. So all of you floaters: calm down and close that safety school transfer application. If you are actually popular and have a blocking group (or have desperately emailed everyone in your yard 30 minutes before the deadline), start dismantling your group ‘cause we’re about to make floating great again.

You get to avoid ~drama~

Lets face it—blocking, like everything at Harvard, is unnecessarily painful. The week before the housing application deadline is somehow more stressful than midterm, comp and punch seasons combined. Floating is your easy way out. Do you actually want to deal with Scandal-worthy schemes and betrayals when you can spend less than a minute on your application? Let your classmates enjoy their blocking-induced tears as you kick back and enjoy the Hunger Games.

No one cares

Right now, you feel like there is a huge scarlet F next to “social status” on your transcript (which you, a Harvard student, are allergic to). This might feel like the end of your social life but fret not— no one will care about you floating after Housing Day. Ever. Seriously, most upperclassmen barely say hi to their blockmates and avoid their linkmates altogether.

New friends!

Floaters get to re-experience the magic of Opening Days, and no, we don’t mean sloppy First Chance Dance makeouts and awkward entryway ice-breakers. You will get the thrill of meeting all kinds of new and exciting people instead of having to settle for your pre-orientation squad. Blocking alone is the perfect chance to diversify your social scene—maybe you’ll even meet your new bff or bae among the other too-cool-for-blocking kids.

Freedom

There is something truly liberating about deciding to enter the unknown of the Housing Lottery by yourself. Don’t let stigma take away your freedom to float. Besides, you did just that when you first came to Harvard and you survived, right? (Or maybe you became a zombie, or a consulting recruit, which are basically the same thing). And forget about high school social hierarchy—being satisfied with your own company doesn’t make you an untouchable loner.

Bonus: you get to pick any cool name for your group without your creativity constrained by that uptight kid your roommate convinced you to block with. “Me, Myself, and I fan club” here we come!