Picking up the pieces

Not all students are willing to let crowds of people into their common rooms for a night, pay for kegs of beer and carry out all of the other preparations that hosting a party demands.

But some Harvard undergraduates are tried-and-true veterans of hosting private parties, proving themselves by drawing everyone from first-years to Wellesley students to their doors.

Matthew L. Getman '01 of Kirkland House says he and his roommates have hosted five large parties this year in their I-entryway suite.

"When we have a party, it's always a big production," he says.

Part of this "production" includes getting through "red tape" and obtaining authorization to host the event. In addition to getting administrative approval, Getman says throwing a party involves much more preparation.

"We radically change our room," he says. "First, we move out all of the furniture to create as much floor space as possible. This also helps to reduce congestion when the room gets extremely crowded."

Joseph S. Smolen '02, a resident of Canaday Hall, says he and his roommates remove all valuables from their common rooms to prevent any damage during a party.

"There was nothing left in one of the common room except for the lights that were up on the wall and a stereo. And even the stereo was safe because it was out of the way and someone was constantly watching it. and changing the music," he says.

Despite their preparation and crowd control,Getman says his room has still endured a bit ofdamage.

"Though nothing really serious has everhappened to our room, at least a few posters havebeen ripped or even stolen completely," he says.

Despite the possibility of damage to his room,Smolen says hosting a party is "barely stressful."

"Canaday is an especially easy location to runa party," he says.

"Riot doors" keep loud music and guests'chatter from bothering most other residents.

"For example, I had to run downstairs at onepoint and I couldn’t hear anything going on in ourroom, he says."

Smolen and Getman say hosts of a party need tobe outgoing and should be sure they enjoy thecompany of hundreds of people in their rooms.

"We always wanted to host a party in our room,"he says. "We chose a weekend when we knew ourproctor would be away, told a bunch of people thatevening during dinner, and then a million peopleshowed up."

The cost of a party is another concern thehosts must address. Smolen says he charged fordrinks to ease the financial burden on the hosts.

"We ended up pretty much breaking even," Smolensays.

Getman acknowledges that hosting a partyrequires a lot of effort: He and his roommateshave actually devised an "efficient method" for running their parties.

"We sometimes have to turn people away at thedoor if the room gets too crowded and we try tolimit the number of blatantly underage people inthe room," he says. "But we usually don't have anyproblems because we are so organized both beforethe party and also while the party is going on.

Despite their preparation and crowd control,Getman says his room has still endured a bit ofdamage.

"Though nothing really serious has everhappened to our room, at least a few posters havebeen ripped or even stolen completely," he says.

Despite the possibility of damage to his room,Smolen says hosting a party is "barely stressful."

"Canaday is an especially easy location to runa party," he says.

"Riot doors" keep loud music and guests'chatter from bothering most other residents.

"For example, I had to run downstairs at onepoint and I couldn’t hear anything going on in ourroom, he says."

Smolen and Getman say hosts of a party need tobe outgoing and should be sure they enjoy thecompany of hundreds of people in their rooms.

"We always wanted to host a party in our room,"he says. "We chose a weekend when we knew ourproctor would be away, told a bunch of people thatevening during dinner, and then a million peopleshowed up."

The cost of a party is another concern thehosts must address. Smolen says he charged fordrinks to ease the financial burden on the hosts.

"We ended up pretty much breaking even," Smolensays.

Getman acknowledges that hosting a partyrequires a lot of effort: He and his roommateshave actually devised an "efficient method" for running their parties.

"We sometimes have to turn people away at thedoor if the room gets too crowded and we try tolimit the number of blatantly underage people inthe room," he says. "But we usually don't have anyproblems because we are so organized both beforethe party and also while the party is going on.