Students Share A Roost With Top Harvard Brass

Earlier this year, a male first-year says he took a companion back to his Massachusetts Hall room around five in the afternoon for the expressed purpose of making love.

But with Harvard's powerful administrators working on the floor below, young lovers can't be too careful.

"I kept telling her to be quiet," says the student, who requested anonymity. "They might hear us downstairs."

Massachusetts Hall, the oldest college dormitory in the nation, provides not only a home to first-years but also serves as the offices for President Neil L. Rudenstine and other high-ranking University officials.

Administration offices take up Mass. Hall's first two floors, and 24 students live on the upper two floors in the smallest dorm in Harvard Yard.

And locating both of these groups in Mass Hall makes living there a very different experience from residing in other Yard dorms, first-years say.

Those differences can include everything from knowing the license plates on Rudenstine's car (it's 1636, the year Harvard was founded) to spotting world leaders when they visit or just keeping extra quiet during those intimate moments.

"I've run into [Rudenstine] a few times," says Kiran Musunuru '97, adding that he enjoys a special relationship with the administrators working below him. "He's friendly because he recognizes us."

With key card privileges to Mass Hall, however, comes pressure, Miles Okazaki '97 says he feels an obligation to keep up appearances because he lives right above Harvard's commanders.

"I make sure I look OK before I go rushingoutside," Okazaki says. "There's always tourgroups out there and I don't want to give them thewrong impression."

But because entrances to the administrationoffices and student dorms are on separate sides ofthe building, other Mass Hall residents are quickto point out they don't have much more interactionwith the administration than do other students atthe College.

"The misconception exists that we seeRudenstine all the time, but that's not ture,"Julie C. Suk '97 says. "We have separate doors.There's no real reason for us to see him."

The result, in some minds, is that Mass Hall isreally two buildings.

"There are really two Mass Halls," Andrei H.Cerny '97 says. "One for the administration andone for the students."

Presidential Study Break

Still, Rudenstine occasionally drops by. Lastmonth, for example, the president had an hour-longstudy break with the dorm residents.

"I was really impressed by him," Cerny says."[He] came in, sat down on the floor with us andtalked about life, sutdies and school in general."

Most of the students who attended the gatheringsay they found Rudenstine friendly and interestedin student life. But others say the administrationtook advantage of the study break, using it morefor public relations purposes than to becomeacquainted with students.

Photographers and cameramen covered the studybreak, capturing footage for an upcomingdocumentary entitled "A Day in the Life atHarvard." And Anshul G. Amar '97 says theinteraction between the students and Rudenstineshowed everyday life at Harvard as more excitingthan it really is.

"It was pretty fake," Amar says. "We're amulticultural dorm, and they needed some goodP.R."

While the dorm may be culturally diverse, MassHall residents have developed a reputation forbeing monolithic in one important regard: theirsilence. In fact, rumor has it that the incomingfirst-years placed in Mass Hall are students whoindicate on their rooming applications they arequiet people.

"The deans told us at the start of the year weare chosen because it's quiet place and we willnot do anything to disturb the administration,"Cerny says.

The personal tastes of Associate Dean ofFreshmen W.C. Burris Young '55 also may influencewhich students end up in the dorm.

Young, who as a dean helps place incomingfirst-years into their housing, spent about 30years as a proctor in Mass Hall and "has a softspot in his heart" for the dorm, according to JoeR. Reisert, the current proctor.

But Young denies that he looks for a certaintype of student to place in Mass Hall.

"I put people there who I'd want to have aroundme--pleasant, interesting people who hate countrywestern music," he says. "I don't want the placeto sound like a truck stop."

Certain patterns, however, emerge frominterviews with this year's Mass Hall residents.When students lodged there now describedthemselves on rooming applications, nearly allcharacterized themselves as relatively tame "3's"on a scale of 1 to 5 for eating, sleeping, noisehabits.

In their social habits and politics, "peoplehere are more conservative than the rest of thecampus," Suk says.

Some Mass Hall residents say they are lessoutgoing only because they spend so much timedeveloping their skills and talents. Onefirst-year living there says Mass Hall studentscomprised an unusually large share of this year'senrollment in challenging classes such as ComputerScience 51 and Chemistry 17.

"People spend a good bulk of their time intheir areas of interest," says Stephanie P. Wexler'97, who is an editor of The Crimson. "They're thebest of the bunch. Harvard students are greet,[Mass Hall students] are incredible."

More time spent studying for such classes meansless time for parties. And more quiet.

"We haven't had a party because a lot of peoplejut don't want one here," says Laura K. Van Winkle'97. "It's too noisy."

And Michael A. Cress '97 says the dorm's smallsize makes it tough to have a large gatheringwithout drawing the attention of his proctor.

"Most people do their partying in otherplaces," Cress says. "If they do it in the dorm,it's pretty quietly--no strobe lights or anythinglike that."

Although officials have usually gone home hoursbefore parties start, many students don't want totake any chances. "The floors are a little thin,"Cerny says. "I could just see someone calling usand telling us to be quiet."

But in the past, it has sometimes beenHarvard's leaders who bother the first-years.

"Somebody down there had their alarm clock setso it went off every night at midnight," saysAlfredo R. Gutierrez '97. Gutierrez says he madeseveral phone calls to administrators before theproblem was corrected.

The Water Stops'

Another drawback of Mass. Hall life is that thedorm, which has not been renovated for decades,sometimes shows signs of its old age. Yard dormrenovations began with the exterior of Mass Hall,but its interior is last in line forrehabilitation.

"When someone below us uses the toilet andwe're taking a shower, the water stops," Cresssays. "It happens every day."

Okazaki and Cerny also claim that the furnacemakes excessive noise and the building's windowsneed cleaning.

"The dorm's really old and falling apart,"Okazaki says. "They should tear it down and put upsomething like Quincy, with better [plumbing] andstuff."

But not everyone likes the renovations. Youngclaims that the Mass Hall ghosts, who once werefamous for bringing alcohol to residents, leftafter the external renovations.

"Renovations scared the ghosts away," Youngsays.

Other students have supernatural concerns. JomoA. Thorne '97, one of eight residents in thedorm's A entry, says the small size of Mass Hallaffected his relationships with his roommates aswell as with other students.

Thorne says his tastes in music, as well as hisvocabulary, changed this year. "We start to actlike each other because we're isolated heretogether," he says.

Many residents, however, say any sense ofisolation is more than made up for by theprivilege of living in one of the most famousdormitories at one of America's most famousschools.

"It's the oldest dorm in the country," Cernysays. "Living here makes me feel a bond betweenthose who came before us and those who will cameafter.

"I make sure I look OK before I go rushingoutside," Okazaki says. "There's always tourgroups out there and I don't want to give them thewrong impression."

But because entrances to the administrationoffices and student dorms are on separate sides ofthe building, other Mass Hall residents are quickto point out they don't have much more interactionwith the administration than do other students atthe College.

"The misconception exists that we seeRudenstine all the time, but that's not ture,"Julie C. Suk '97 says. "We have separate doors.There's no real reason for us to see him."

The result, in some minds, is that Mass Hall isreally two buildings.

"There are really two Mass Halls," Andrei H.Cerny '97 says. "One for the administration andone for the students."

Presidential Study Break

Still, Rudenstine occasionally drops by. Lastmonth, for example, the president had an hour-longstudy break with the dorm residents.

"I was really impressed by him," Cerny says."[He] came in, sat down on the floor with us andtalked about life, sutdies and school in general."

Most of the students who attended the gatheringsay they found Rudenstine friendly and interestedin student life. But others say the administrationtook advantage of the study break, using it morefor public relations purposes than to becomeacquainted with students.

Photographers and cameramen covered the studybreak, capturing footage for an upcomingdocumentary entitled "A Day in the Life atHarvard." And Anshul G. Amar '97 says theinteraction between the students and Rudenstineshowed everyday life at Harvard as more excitingthan it really is.

"It was pretty fake," Amar says. "We're amulticultural dorm, and they needed some goodP.R."

While the dorm may be culturally diverse, MassHall residents have developed a reputation forbeing monolithic in one important regard: theirsilence. In fact, rumor has it that the incomingfirst-years placed in Mass Hall are students whoindicate on their rooming applications they arequiet people.

"The deans told us at the start of the year weare chosen because it's quiet place and we willnot do anything to disturb the administration,"Cerny says.

The personal tastes of Associate Dean ofFreshmen W.C. Burris Young '55 also may influencewhich students end up in the dorm.

Young, who as a dean helps place incomingfirst-years into their housing, spent about 30years as a proctor in Mass Hall and "has a softspot in his heart" for the dorm, according to JoeR. Reisert, the current proctor.

But Young denies that he looks for a certaintype of student to place in Mass Hall.

"I put people there who I'd want to have aroundme--pleasant, interesting people who hate countrywestern music," he says. "I don't want the placeto sound like a truck stop."

Certain patterns, however, emerge frominterviews with this year's Mass Hall residents.When students lodged there now describedthemselves on rooming applications, nearly allcharacterized themselves as relatively tame "3's"on a scale of 1 to 5 for eating, sleeping, noisehabits.

In their social habits and politics, "peoplehere are more conservative than the rest of thecampus," Suk says.

Some Mass Hall residents say they are lessoutgoing only because they spend so much timedeveloping their skills and talents. Onefirst-year living there says Mass Hall studentscomprised an unusually large share of this year'senrollment in challenging classes such as ComputerScience 51 and Chemistry 17.

"People spend a good bulk of their time intheir areas of interest," says Stephanie P. Wexler'97, who is an editor of The Crimson. "They're thebest of the bunch. Harvard students are greet,[Mass Hall students] are incredible."

More time spent studying for such classes meansless time for parties. And more quiet.

"We haven't had a party because a lot of peoplejut don't want one here," says Laura K. Van Winkle'97. "It's too noisy."

And Michael A. Cress '97 says the dorm's smallsize makes it tough to have a large gatheringwithout drawing the attention of his proctor.

"Most people do their partying in otherplaces," Cress says. "If they do it in the dorm,it's pretty quietly--no strobe lights or anythinglike that."

Although officials have usually gone home hoursbefore parties start, many students don't want totake any chances. "The floors are a little thin,"Cerny says. "I could just see someone calling usand telling us to be quiet."

But in the past, it has sometimes beenHarvard's leaders who bother the first-years.

"Somebody down there had their alarm clock setso it went off every night at midnight," saysAlfredo R. Gutierrez '97. Gutierrez says he madeseveral phone calls to administrators before theproblem was corrected.

The Water Stops'

Another drawback of Mass. Hall life is that thedorm, which has not been renovated for decades,sometimes shows signs of its old age. Yard dormrenovations began with the exterior of Mass Hall,but its interior is last in line forrehabilitation.

"When someone below us uses the toilet andwe're taking a shower, the water stops," Cresssays. "It happens every day."

Okazaki and Cerny also claim that the furnacemakes excessive noise and the building's windowsneed cleaning.

"The dorm's really old and falling apart,"Okazaki says. "They should tear it down and put upsomething like Quincy, with better [plumbing] andstuff."

But not everyone likes the renovations. Youngclaims that the Mass Hall ghosts, who once werefamous for bringing alcohol to residents, leftafter the external renovations.

"Renovations scared the ghosts away," Youngsays.

Other students have supernatural concerns. JomoA. Thorne '97, one of eight residents in thedorm's A entry, says the small size of Mass Hallaffected his relationships with his roommates aswell as with other students.

Thorne says his tastes in music, as well as hisvocabulary, changed this year. "We start to actlike each other because we're isolated heretogether," he says.

Many residents, however, say any sense ofisolation is more than made up for by theprivilege of living in one of the most famousdormitories at one of America's most famousschools.

"It's the oldest dorm in the country," Cernysays. "Living here makes me feel a bond betweenthose who came before us and those who will cameafter.