Spatial Reasoning

When it comes to providing social space for its students, the oldest and richest university in the country is a blundering failure. Few were surprised in April when a confidential internal memo revealed that Harvard finished fifth from the bottom in a 2002 student satisfaction survey of 31 colleges. With Harvard receiving an average rating of 2.62 on a five point scale for its campus social life, it’s clear that many Harvard students are frustrated with a campus that provides few social options and even fewer social venues.

While their posh mansions dominate the area around Mt. Auburn Street, very few Harvard students are lucky enough to posses a key to one of Harvard’s eight final clubs. For the privileged few, the lack of student social space probably doesn’t seem like such a pressing problem; these classy playhouses provide ample space for socializing and entertainment between classes—and after the bars close. Somewhere between 5 and 8 percent of Harvard students (all male) can call these mansions their own, leaving the vast majority of students without an adequate alternative. The sad state of the Harvard social scene is a problem for members and non-members alike: the majority of students are frustrated because they don’t have their own space and the club members are frustrated by the many anxious students knocking on their door and demanding entrance.

Since our freshman year, new social groups have been sprouting up constantly. The trend sends a clear message that many more Harvard students want membership in a social club than the eight all-male final clubs can provide. But with Harvard Square real estate prices far higher than any newly formed club can afford, the prospects of adding another Mt. Auburn mansion to the Harvard social scene seems close to impossible.

It might seem surprising that even after 369 years, Harvard still hasn’t found a way to provide an adequate social space for students. But it appears that until recently the school didn’t face such a problem. A quick glance at a 1915 Harvard Class Album reveals a Harvard that quite certainly did not have the low social satisfaction ratings that exist today. The old yearbook features pictures of nearly 25 social club buildings scattered around the Harvard campus. With only 600 students in the 1915 graduating class (as opposed to around 1600 today), it’s easy to do the math and see that many more Harvard students once had the opportunity enjoy their own social venue.

The vast majority of these buildings still exist, but their current functions are a far cry from the social space they provided in the past. The old Sigma Alpha Epsilon building now hosts the Harvard Athletic Administration; Alpha Sigma Phi and D.U. Club are now Nantucket Nectars and J. Press; Pi Eta Club is now Upstairs on the Square; the old Iroquois Club now hosts the Harvard Band.

Over the years, these and others social clubs vanished from the Harvard campus—but no social space was introduced to replace them. With student population size growing and social venues disappearing over the past half century, Harvard gradually fell into the problem we have today: a tiny minority of male students still enjoy the comfort of their own space and the rest of us are left wondering why a school that prides itself for its egalitarian principles could have a social scene that seems so unfair.

Some students argue that a student center could fill this void. Although such a space probably won’t sky rocket Harvard to the top of the list in student social satisfaction, it would at least provide an alternative venue for those students who are relegated to perpetual guest status at the clubs. Yet despite the growing demand for more student space, it seems doubtful that there will be blue prints for a student center on Larry Summers’ desk any time soon.

As new clubs sprout up, many are working to acquire their own venues. Although a Harvard Square flush with social space might be a thing of the past, the current efforts will at least afford more students (and finally some female students) with social space that the University has failed to provide.

Of course many graduates fully enjoyed their Harvard social experience without stepping foot in a private student club—and many might not see the necessity for a change. But for the students who do care—and especially the female students who were never even given the possibility to acquire their own space—the prospect of having more social venues is an attractive option.

While there was little we could do about this problem as students, as alumni there are many more opportunities for influence. With the development of student dorms in Allston, more real estate for public and private student space will become available. For those graduates who want future Harvard students to enjoy a better social experience than they did, there’s a good reason to stay an active alumni.

Lia C. Larson ’05 is an economics concentrator in Adams House. She was associate editorial chair of The Crimson in 2004.