The Chairs Are Coming Back

The colorful lawn chairs that debuted last fall in Harvard Yard will return tomorrow to yet again help promote awkward conversation and new potential for “I Saw You Harvard” posts—oh, and also community building and musical chair competitions.

In an e-mail to the class of 2013 last Friday, Dean of Freshmen Thomas A. Dingman '67 announced the return of the chairs, writing, “I trust that they will again contribute to your relaxation and serve a nice community-building function.”

Those bright, colorful lawn chairs have had a positive impact in helping create a social space, according to Susan Shefte, director for planning, analytics, and business services at Harvard University Hospitality and Dining Services.

While 476 chairs and 82 tables came to the Yard and Science Center area during the fall along with performances and fanfare, the spring initiative will be “on a more limited basis” due to the events taking place in the Yard over the coming weeks, including ArtsFirst and Commencement, Shefte said.

“Fall is when the most happens around this project,” she said. “It’s when people are starting classes rather than going into exams.”

The chairs will be placed near Grays and Holworthy Halls, Dudley Café, and right outside the Queen Head’s Pub, according to Anthony J. Pacillo, senior manager of Harvard Yard and freshman dormitories.

The chairs are to remain in the Yard until mid-May when they will be removed for Commencement, according to Pacillo and Shefte. They are expected to be put out again for summer session and the fall term.

“It’ll develop, change and grow with each semester,” Shefte said, adding that her office and the others involved in the project are very open to suggestions and are “always looking for new ideas.”

Photo by Sara Joe Wolansky/The Harvard Crimson.