Luck is in the Yard

No matter what time one walks through Harvard Yard, there will undoubtedly be throngs of tourists surrounding the John Harvard Statue. Many will be snapping photos of them touching John Harvard’s foot, now polished bronze after years of wear. Whether it should be touched or not is another question, but the fact remains that rubbing the foot is generally considered a talisman for good fortune.

As Saint Patrick’s Day draws near, luck is in the air, but there are certain places around campus where attempts to secure good fortune always lie. Most Harvard students have already overcome incredible odds just to get here, and many continue to hold superstitions about what will bring them luck upon arriving in West Cambridge. 

Some students engage in the classic rituals common across American institutions: crossing their fingers or knocking on the wooden tables of Annenberg dining hall for a good grade on a midterm (an especially prevalent ritual in these past weeks). I’ve heard undergraduates engage in long debates about what on-campus libraries lead to maximum academic success, with consensus often concluding that Widener Library is the best for writing essays or Lamont the best for midterm lock-ins. In my opinion, I swear Langdell Hall at Harvard Law School is the only place to get work done.

Another tradition stretching across American colleges regards avoiding the central campus gate—well, apart from rare instances. For example, students at Princeton are not supposed to walk out of their FitzRandolph Gate until after they graduate. Students at Brown are only meant to walk through their Van Wickle gates twice to mark the beginning and completion of their tenure as students. The University of Kansas holds that students who pass under the Campanile gate before graduation won’t graduate on time.    

Here at Harvard, Johnston Gate was the first gate to open the Yard, created in 1889 and funded by Samuel Johnston. The superstition holds that students should only pass through the main gates once as incoming freshmen and then as graduating seniors. As incoming freshmen, it is the gate that cars drive through for drop-off, and on commencement day, seniors line up next to it before the procession begins.

“I didn’t know it was a thing until someone randomly told me in the middle of the year, but I also realized, I somehow have never actually walked out of it,” Harvard College first-year Celerina Lee ’29 noted. 

But what would Harvard be if not a hub for some out-of-the-box thinkers? Aside from the many general superstitions that students subscribe to, some students have their own rituals—many of which draw on classic Harvard traditions. “On test days, I try to make it to breakfast, and I’ll do a Verit-affle,” Audrey Lee ’29 said.

Another uniquely Harvard experience is spotting Remy, the campus cat. As described on his official Instagram, Remy is the “Yard guardian.” His appearances are entirely based on luck, chosen at his own discretion as he meanders from the Cabot Science Center to the Physics Department building and beyond.

Giving him a light scratch on the head might not guarantee you an A on your midterm, but he seems especially lucky this time of year—his orange fur even echoes the orange stripe of the Irish flag. 

Many freshmen have larger luck-based concerns during the spring tradition of Housing Day. According to the University, the residential house each undergraduate receives is entirely random, but that does not stop many from wishing for their ideal house—or rather, worrying about the house they do not want. The night before Housing Day, most students participate in the superstitious tradition “River Run.” For the event, students will take a shot at each house on the river, and three in the house they want the most. The goal for most students is to get into one of the historically coveted river houses. While most students skip the Quad entirely, there is a small but growing movement of students partaking in the “Quad Run.”

Speaking of upperclassmen houses, each residential House carries a distinct reputation—some scarier than others. For instance, Lowell House is said to be haunted—not by the President of Harvard it was named after, Abbott Lawrence Lowell—but by his sister, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Amy Lowell. House employees have allegedly claimed to see a full-body apparition, as well as cigar smoke surrounding her painting, as she was known to be a smoker. 

The penultimate Harvard superstition lies in the “unofficial graduation requirements.” Students are challenged to jump from Weeks Bridge, pee on the John Harvard Statue, have sex in the Widener Stacks, and participate in Primal Scream. The origin of these traditions is unknown, but many students’ goals are to complete all or most of them by the time they graduate.

Mikhal Shvartsman ’29 participated in Primal Scream her freshman fall. “It did feel very ‘Harvard trademark sign,’” she said. “If I’m going to go to Harvard, I might as well do the Harvard things.” 

Whatever traditions you celebrate or superstitions you hold, this time of year, with both St. Patrick’s Day and midterm season, is sure to bring out all sorts of beliefs. Good luck!

Elle du Pont ’29 (edupont@college.harvard.edu) is on the lookout for Remy ahead of her Math 21A midterm.