House Community in Jeopardy

Surrounding the news of the Administration's cut in blocking groups size floats a nebulous idea: "House community." The Masters say that large blocking groups allow insulation from it; critics of the administration claim that understanding it is critical to thinking about randomized housing. Had more Undergraduate Council candidates made it a main issue of their platforms we might have had a semester's discussion of House community behind us. As it stands though, "House community" seems the sentiment everyone loves to love but hates to examine.

Dean Harry R. Lewis '68, however, offered something resembling a definition of "House community" in his memo to students earlier this year. He wrote that cutting blocking group size will help students to become more familiar with others in their House, and will ensure that each House represents the diversity of students' interests and backgrounds.

This second part describes what kind of community the Houses are designed to achieve, i.e. a community composed of diverse people. By this definition, House community is a sentiment roughly akin to students feeling close to one another, as revealed by networks of friends within the House that transcend blocking groups.

Lewis' critics have responded that a genuine love of the House and its traditions, not blocking group size, creates House community. These critics are right, but all traditions are not created equal. It is worth asking which House traditions contribute to its community, and how House traditions inform the debate over the reduction in blocking group size.

Perhaps the best known and most eagerly anticipated House events are those which come around but once a year: Dunster's Goat Roast, Adams' Masquerade, and Quincy's Exorcism are good examples. These are the one-night stands of House events--they feel great while they last, but they're soon forgotten. Insofar as these events are shared among most House members, they are important, but they are too infrequent to support long-lasting bonds among residents, the type of genuine friendships Lewis and others seek.

Then there are House events like the Masters' teas in Lowell House and Masters' open houses in Eliot. These occur regularly, and are usually well-attended. Then again, the same can be said for meals in House dining halls, and if these alone were sufficient to foster House community, the recent cut in blocking group size would not have been necessary.

Bumping into different kinds of people during the lonely dining hall dash from the anonymous chaos of the kitchen to the familiar warmth of your blocking group's table doesn't do the trick. The same can be said for shared laundry rooms and entryways. Teas, open houses, and other opportunities for mingling do not themselves sustain community, nor does the shared space of dining halls and laundry rooms. Friction, it seems, does not always lead to friendship.

There are also traditions of sustained activities involving a significant portion of House residents, like an Evening with Champions, Eliot House's annual figure skating benefit for the Jimmy Fund. If, as many claim, student organizations have replaced Houses as the primary student communities, House-based student organizations might be the best of both worlds.

Working on a common project, as opposed to mere mingling, forces students from separate blocking groups to get to know one another well. Consequently, such activities do much to improve House community.

It is curious that House traditions have survived randomization, especially since so many were invented and perpetuated by the certain type of students who lived in non-randomized houses. Who other than the decadent aesthetes in Adams would indulge in the renowned debauchery of the Masquerade? Who but the social libertines in Dunster--the same folks who sustained a pornography appreciation society--would support a deliciously Pagan feast? Now, supposedly, the artists and Pagan sympathizers are gone, or at least as common as every other type of student, but the traditions remain.

If such quirky traditions need strong sources, why do they continue? Perhaps because Harvard students are, in some sense, natural conservatives: they respect the age and mystique of their surroundings, find even godless festivals inviting, and continue baseless customs and pure traditions as a result. If this is true, one need not worry about House character which consists of the various traditions which separate one House from another. House community, however, is a horse of a different color.

Some traditions, like the Eliot House Evening with Champions, sustain House community amid randomization. To the extent that the Administration and House Masters can support such traditions--extended activities involving a large portion of residents--they should do so.

Primarily through fostering these types of traditions, and not necessarily through tweaking blocking group size, can they save House community.

Hugh P. Liebert '01 is a social studies concentrator in Eliot House. His column appears on alternate Tuesdays.