They Even Know Each Other's Punchlines

Four autumns ago, when Nicholas I. Martin '88 first laid eyes on Erik J. Salovaara '88 in the freshman suite they would share in Wigglesworth Hall, he was not impressed. As Martin tells it, "I'm living with a bagman" was the first thought to cross his mind as he saw the groggy, half-dressed Salovaara stumble into the common room to meet Martin and his parents. The impression was reinforced when he realized that the stench of his roommate's clothes permeated the suite.

That same day, one of Martin's other roommates, Randall W. Stone '88, was waiting apprehensively to meet the suite's fourth inhabitable Andrew R. Elby '88, who had sent him a letter proclaiming his predilection for acid rock music. In his effort to amuse his new roomates, Elby had also sent Martin a letter depicting himself and his house in stick figures, and had written to Salovaara, saying that because Salovaara lived in Illinois, farther from Cambridge than any of the others, he would be expected to pay all the long distance phone bills.

Little did Martin know that Salovaara and his clothing had been soaked and mildewed on his Freshman Outdoor Program canoeing trip, and little did Stone expect ever to find Elby's personal brand of humor endearing. And littler still did any of the four expect to live together for the entirety of their Harvard experience.

But strange are the ways of fate, and recalling their time as roommates in their Currier House suite, the four heartily laugh together and vie to tell their own version of the various episodes through which their rooming group, unlike so many that annually crowd the Yard, has survived and flourished.

wasn't long before friendships between all four of the students had solidified. "We all hit it off pretty well, and by second semester, we were all friends," says Salovaara, from Oak Park, Ill.

Initial impressions aside, the foursome quickly discovered that they shared much in common. "We were Harvard's ultimate social engineering project. The number of connections of interests you can draw between us is incredible," Martin says.

If the powers that be in the Freshman Dean's Office did indeed make a special project of Wigglesworth A-11, four years later, their creation is still functioning smoothly. Listening to the four students' friendly, nostalgic banter, one is struck by the degree to which each feels comfortable with his place within the group. They exemplify the notion that one is only free to be an individual within a community.

In retrospect, they say, it is easy to see reasons why they were placed together, and why it was likely that they would get on well. Elby, a chemistry and physics concentrator from Westfield, NJ., shares a keen interest in science and mathematics with Martin, a physics and music concentrator from Washington, DC. Stone, a government concentrator from Pittsburgh, PA., shares an interest in politics with Salovaara, a literature concentrator who joined his roommate in his work on the Harvard Political Review.

All share a similar approach to their schoolwork. "We're all reasonably committed to academics," Elby says. "None of us are blow-offs and none of us are workaholics," he says.

All four have acted on their common interest in drama and music--Stone as a member of the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus, Martin as president of the Gilbert and Sullivan Players, Salovaara as president of the Currier House Drama Society, and Elby as a member of the house drama and music societies.

Moreover, they state, they all have similar ideas of what constitutes a good time. All prefer a movie or show to a beer bash, and all confess to a passion for a good game of bridge. "We go to lots of movies, dinners and shows together," Stone says. And in the process of spending time together, he adds, "we've certainly washed off on each other."

Despite the interests they share, each occupies a unique place within the group. Elby is something of a clown, whose refusal to feel embarrassment, no matter what the situation, is a constant source of both amusement and consternation to his roommates. Stone is the most sedate, and observers describe him as the group's stabilizer. Martin and Salovaara occupy a middle ground, the former tending to be more cynical, the latter more outgoing. "I think that Erik and I have to take a bit of credit for loosening Nick up a bit, getting him a bit more lecherous," Elby says.

Over the years, each has become accustomed to the others' jabs and jokes, and no pecking order seems to exist among them. There is no leader and no follower. When they tell jokes, in fact, they no longer need to tell the full versions, so well do they know each others' repertoire.

After four years together, they take certain things for granted. If any of them wants to join the others for dinner--and often all four dine together--then he must meet up with his roommates at their suite at 5 p.m. sharp. Every morning it is Randy who wakes up and showers first, followed by Nick, then Erik then Andy.

Commencement will break up their shared routine forever. Stone will stay in Cambridge to enter Harvard's Ph.D. program in government, Elby will study in England for a year before entering a doctoral program in physics at the University of California at Berkeley, Salovaara will return to Chicago to find a job in law court administration, and Martin will work for the Washington Monthly.

The foursome has survived summers away from one another, and they say they expect to remain friends after tomorrow. "It's not like in the summers we write every week," Salovaara says, "but when we get together we're very close."