Alternatives to Blocking with Your ‘Friends’

Word on the street is that some of you freshmen are making Google forms and waitlists for your blocking groups. When I heard that, I was at a loss for words. I feel it is my personal responsibility to set your generation (I refer, of course, to everyone in the Class of 2026, most of whom are about six months younger than me) on the right path. So, here are some ways to decide about who to block with that don’t involve begging your ‘friends’ to let you live with them or telling people What Father Does For Work.

Choose Based on Freshman Dorm

Take it from a Class of ’25er — you do NOT want to be spending Housing Day in a dorm on Prescott Street. Yeah, your friends might all live in Pennypacker, but you want a straight view to the statue the morning of. Find somebody in a dorm with a good view and block with them for the ideal Housing Day experience. Matthews has a pretty ideal location, but you’ve got to make sure their window faces into the Old Yard. It’s also nice to hide out in a separate entryway dorm, like Grays or Hollis, so you don’t have to have a heart attack every time a group of upperclassmen stampedes up the stairs.

Block with Your Pset Group

You guys are probably sick and tired of the first floor of Cabot Library, right? What if I told you there was a surefire way that you could all swipe into the same house library next year? Or better yet, share the same common room? Work-life balance… who’s that? It’s much better to be able to beg your classmate for the answers from the comfort of your own complimentary pleather couch.

Pick Based on Shirt/Shoe Size

There must be somebody on this campus who shares your exact measurements. If you room together, you’ll get double the wardrobe! No more wondering what to wear to the party/interview/blind date/office hours with the hot TF. You’ll never have to go shopping again!

Block with the Busiest Person You Know

Most sophomores have to live in doubles. But it’s basically not a double if you never see your roommate. You don’t even have to sexile them if they’re always in the library or at some kind of meeting. And, obviously, they won’t be sexiling you anytime soon. The toughest part about this one is holding a conversation with them for long enough to get them to agree to block with you. Steal their phone and put a meeting in their GCal. They’ll be there. They won’t know why, but they’ll be there.

Kidnap Somebody from Annenberg

Find someone sitting alone with headphones on and chloroform them when they open their mouth to take a bite of delicious New HUDS. Drag them to the basement of Memorial Hall — nobody’s ever down there. When they come to, say, “We can do this the easy way,” open your laptop to the blocking form, “or we can do this the hard way.” They’ll be oh-so-happy to block with you! Or, you know, you could ask them.

Block with Your Bestie — Yourself

You know what? You’re in your pset group. You share your exact measurements. You’re even probably pretty busy! Yeah, you’ll always be in your room when you’re there, and that’s kind of annoying. But ultimately, being a ‘floater’ is always an option, and not at all a bad one. Do you even want to room with any of your friends, anyway? They seem pretty messy to me.

Guys, blocking is just not that deep. Yes, I have friends in my house. Yes, I blocked with a couple of them, one of whom is my roommate (and who also fits a couple of the above criteria — shoutout to Roxy!). But most of them were just assigned to the house too! Pure serendipity! And I see my non-blocking-group friends all the time, too, because at the end of the day, we all live on the same square mile anyway. Best of luck on Housing Day, and remember, don’t stress yourself out about something that truly does not matter that much!