Harvard Housing Day is notoriously loud. As members of each House storm the Yard, first-years’ excitement of finding out where they will live for the next three years bubbles up into a conglomeration of chanting, screaming, and celebrating. After all, there’s seldom a more unique time in your Harvard experience than discovering one’s next point of introduction after name, concentration, and class year. With the definition of the upperclassman experience on the line, it’s no wonder Housing Day is a combination of both thrill and anxiety as shouts fill the air between Holworthy and Grays.
The festivities get so rowdy that from an outside perspective, it’s hard to tell if the shouts are of joy, fear, or something else entirely. In 2003, upperclassmen were so emphatically loud when welcoming first-year students into their Houses that a local news station thought they were staging an anti-war protest against the attacks on Iraq. In a sense, Housing Day quite literally screams Harvard; the sounds of this tradition reflect the overall culture of anticipation that defines this momentous turning point in one’s Harvard career.
Along with the sheer volume of the event, there’s a certain quality of Housing Day that lies external to the sensory overload of that spring morning. Matt Thomas ’21 reflects on traditional Housing Days, which, unlike this year and last, actually took place in the Yard. For him, the most memorable aspect of the experience was always “the energy.” He recalls “just how excited everyone was and how on edge we were, and how much we were anticipating what was coming next,” speaking to a sense of eagerness that underscores the endless shouts of joy.
Yet for the past two years, Housing Day has been eerily quiet. Last spring, first-year students received their housing assignments a month after being kicked off campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Housing Day 2020, in the height of quarantine, the Yard was silent—a Harvard first. Amidst growing uncertainty due to the pandemic, Housing Day 2020 acted simultaneously as a pillar of light and a reminder of missed traditions. For many, the positives outweighed the negatives as Housing Day unfolded remotely for the first time. PJ Clark ’23 recalls discovering he was in Cabot House last year: “upperclassmen were shouting into their mics and lighting up the chat and sporting their Cabot merchandise.” Like Thomas, he describes “the energy” that stood out in his memory of virtual Housing Day, a testament to how the spirit of Housing Day doesn’t fade when the volume does.
While the energy of anticipation remains, Housing Day loses something in isolation. Despite efforts to make the best of it last year, the shortcomings of the virtual experience were felt as deeply as the Yard is sparse. Prior to evacuating campus, first-year students developed connections with upperclassmen and heard their stories worshipping the traditional Housing Day experience, which made it hard for first-years to fully embrace the online alternative. Betsey Bennett ’24, who is taking a gap year after having completed her first year at Harvard last spring, experiences this pseudo-nostalgia for the lost tradition: “Since the moment that I toured Harvard, I had heard about Housing Day as one of Harvard’s best traditions. The fact that I will never experience being dorm-stormed with my friends makes me sad.” Missing out on a moment that both defines one’s Harvard identity and shapes their immediate community naturally results in discontentment. There’s no Zoom-equivalent to getting megaphoned and champagne-sprayed. During a pandemic, Housing Day is just a whisper of what it once was.
A year later in 2021, Housing Day was once again virtual. The coveted envelopes bearing House assignments were replaced with Zoom links. All typical fanfare was condensed into muted microphones. The sheer format of the event made it less of a celebration and more reminiscent of a class or another obligation adding to our Zoom fatigue. Despite the presence of some first-year students living on campus, the Yard was silent for its second year in running.
This year the stakes were even lower. Most first-year students in the class of 2024 will never even live in the Yard, let alone be able to picture it as full of life as it would be on a traditional Housing Day. Since there were very few upperclassmen on campus during the fall semester, most underclassmen have not yet had the chance to hear stories of Housing Day from people in the grades ahead of them. Thomas recalls that when he was a first-year, “there were other upperclassmen who helped me along the way,” a luxury not afforded to the class of 2024. Without rumors to paint a picture, first-years have no tangible baseline to which they can compare virtual Housing Day.
However, it seems this year’s housing reveal was more successful than last year’s, as this spring has been characterized by more optimism for the future. Vaccine rollout and hope for a return to normal this fall semester lightened the context of the 2021 Housing Day experience, as first-year students can picture themselves enjoying House life soon. In addition, certain first-years had the chance to be in the Yard or at least with their blockmates as they discovered their housing assignments, though international students and most remote-from-home first-years still had to fly solo from their computer screens.
The big reveal itself was somewhat more promising this year as well. Audrey Vanderslice ’24 concedes that “the Zoom reveal was actually pretty exciting,” offering a more optimistic stance on the process. “I’m sure it’s even better in person when you can be around everyone,” says Vanderslice, “but I know I’ll get to experience it as a part of Housing Days for future freshmen.”
After that piercing moment of truth, what happens next? Without the big Annenberg breakfast or the rest of the day devoted to reveling in House life, it seems the big welcome was artificially cut short. Housing Day often provides an initial point of connection for first-years to feel like a part of their new community, but without the typical series of events, students are left lost and disconnected. Bennett mentions she wishes she had the opportunity to bond more with her housemates: “I would feel more integrated into my house had it been a normal Housing Day and rest of year,” she shares.
So how can students feel connected to their House when they are not even living in it? For now, virtual programming can help build community during a time of physical separation. When asked if the feeling of being welcomed into House life subsided after virtual Housing Day, Clark replied, “not in the slightest.” He elaborates, “I think the prevalence of House events and how they are widely publicized reflects our efforts to constantly provide opportunities for Cabotians to connect with their Cabot community, especially during these times of virtual learning.” For Clark and others, the remote nature of this year still yields a sense of connectedness—albeit limited—to the House community. Though the Housing Day videos and virtual events can give us a glimpse into House life, the only way to truly return is to experience it, in full volume, next fall.
Carli Cooperstein ’24 (carlicooperstein@college.harvard.edu) lost her voice after screaming, “MATHER!!!”