House Hype Ushers in Lottery Day

Freshmen may have expected a “PG-rated” show at last night’s pre-housing lottery screening of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in Sanders Theatre.

But they got a peek into the more risque side of House Life when a group of Currier House residents ran shirtless in front of the screen—spelling out “Currier” on their stomachs and propping broomsticks between their legs.

The screening was the first part of “Get Housed” night, which included a study break and a professional “R-rated” hypnotist.

Haining Gouinlock ’07, a member of the Prefect board, said that the night was a “way to bring all freshmen together one more time before they get separated into Houses.”

In addition to the Prefect Board, other organizers of the event were the Freshman Dean’s Office, the First-Year Social Committee, and Campus Life Fellow Justin H. Haan ’05.

Dean of Freshmen Thomas Dingman said the event helped to solidify a sense of community among the freshmen since “loyalties begin to get divided” once they receive their housing assignments this morning.

These loyalties will be on display in Annenberg today, as House residents, with t-shirts, music, and chants, jostle with each other to welcome newly inducted freshmen into their ranks.

Freshmen will also be invited to events—such as ice cream socials and Stein Clubs—at their Houses later tonight.

Today also marks the first time that some blocking groups will be officially linked with others, as 87 blocking groups took advantage of the new neighborhood blocking option.

According to Suzy M. Nelson, the associate dean for residential life, this new option will not “undo randomization” because House social programming and dining halls will still encourage people to meet others within their own House.

At the same time, the option may help “foster increased interaction among Houses and allow friends to stay in contact more readily,” Nelson wrote in an e-mail.

No linking groups were assigned to the same House, she added.

Though linking may bring about more interhouse interaction, recent incidents suggest that House loyalty and competitiveness with other Houses will be alive and well.

The Adams House gong, which usually adorns its dining hall, was stolen last week, as it has been many times throughout the House’s history.

The Adams House Committee (HoCo), believing a Leverett House resident was the perpetrator, swiped Leverett’s freshmen welcome t-shirts in retaliation earlier this week, according to Adams and Leverett HoCo chairs.

The t-shirts were soon returned after Leverett HoCo insisted upon its innocence, according to the chairs.

But “the gong is still at large,” Adams HoCo co-chair Andrew J. Bestwick ’07 said.

These pranks are “all in fun,” Leverett HoCo co-chair Stephen A. Koren ’07 said. “I don’t feel like there is any deep animosity between the Houses.”

HoCos and House residents will still strive, though, to impress rising freshmen by asserting their Houses’ unique attributes.

“Each House has their traditions,” said Koren, who described such housing day customs as Adams residents arriving at Annenberg in tuxedoes and Mather students showing up intoxicated.

Earlier this month, though, a debate erupted on the Currier e-mail open-list about the association of alcohol with House Life.

Of the two proposed freshman t-shirt designs, one featured a picture of a Corona bottle with “Currier” instead of the brand name written on the label.

The Currier HoCo decided to nix the Corona design due to concerns that it would alienate freshmen who do not drink, according to HoCo co-chair Christopher S. Cullen ’07.

This year HoCos purchased their freshman t-shirts together from a single vendor “for a significant discount,”

according to Haan, who spearheads the College’s push to promote more collaboration between HoCos.

As part of this collaboration initiative, HoCo chairs attended a leadership seminar in February, Haan said.

“We’re hoping that because of getting started earlier and allowing HoCos to interact with one another, this will be one of the strongest housing days yet,” he said.

A former Currier HoCo chair, Jonathan C. Bardin ’06, spoke at the seminar about the humorous video he helped produce last year showcasing Currier to new residents.

This year, Pforzheimer and Leverett HoCos made their own videos to incorporate into House tradition as well, according to those chairs.

And last night, some freshmen, tempted by certain housing superstitions, practiced their own rituals too.

Bach-Hue Le ’09 said yesterday she planned to go to each House with her friends and take jello shots, having heard from upperclassmen that this ritual brings luck.

When asked which House she would hate to get placed in, she said, “there’s one, but I’d rather not say in case I do get in.”

Asked the same question, Devin D. Smith ’09 said that Dunster would be his worst-case scenario.

“I’ve heard terrible things,” he said.

If after a year of House life, students are unhappy with their lot, transferring to another House is an option.

During the first round of the transfer process this year, there were 166 applications for transfer and 121 were approved, according to Nelson. There is also a second opportunity at the end of the spring term to transfer to another House.

—Staff writer Katherine M. Gray can be reached at kmgray@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Nina L. Vizcarrondo can be reached at nvizcarr@fas.harvard.edu.