Intramurals, Parties, Milk: How Kirkland Brought Back House Spirit

Since randomized housing began in 1995, many have observed that Harvard’s once-vibrant House communities have faded. Once a central part of the College experience, House pride today seems limited to adorning our laptops with rabbit stickers, sporting acorn boxer-briefs, or defending a 20-minute walk to class.

As a resident of Kirkland House, Harvard’s most vibrant House community, I know firsthand that it doesn’t have to be this way. Kirkland demonstrates how active participation can foster connection and camaraderie among residents, House randomization notwithstanding.

I’ve been reminded of the power we all have to create a better, livelier House culture by my experience competing for Kirkland’s intramural sports team. I only started playing intramural sports this year as a senior and I wish I had started earlier. It’s been a blast. Playing with my suitemates and blockmates is always a good time, and IMs bring me back to my good ol’ days as an athlete.

Nothing beats messing around with friends in low-stakes sports like ultimate frisbee, broomball, or spikeball. Whether excessively celebrating a victory in B-team volleyball or teasing a friend for their mishap in the inner tube water polo championship game, IMs provide a respite from the Harvard we know — a much-needed break from the responsibilities that weigh on students most hours of the day.

Unfortunately, many students who could have similarly meaningful experiences with IMs will never participate. While there is no formal system for tracking participation, it is common for Houses to forfeit games due to a lack of numbers. You typically see the same faces each week, and I can’t think of even five friends outside of Kirkland who participate. (Crimson Editorial Chair Tommy Barone ’25, editing this article, didn’t even know what inner tube water polo was).

Given otherwise low participation, it is perhaps unsurprising that Kirkland’s unusually engaged IMs team has the chance this year to write its name in the IM history books by joining Cabot House and Winthrop House as the only three Houses to win the Straus Cup — the award bestowed on the winningest House IMs team — four years in a row since randomized housing began. So far K-Force, as we affectionately call our intramural squad, is off to a hot start, leading the current standings by 50 points.

More important than a trophy, though, is the sense of House pride we cultivate through IMs. Though more than a bit quirky, Kirk boasts a strong community, and IMs are in part to thank, providing an opportunity to interact and bond with others in the House — from underclassmen to tutors — that we might not otherwise meet.

But Kirkland does a lot more than just play sports. Like at other Houses, only residents can eat in the dining hall on Thursdays for community night, but Kirkland makes it extra special by treating us to treats like mochi donuts and mozzarella sticks you’ll rarely see on the menu elsewhere. Every other Sunday, we have open houses at our faculty deans’ residence, and droves of Kirkland students — and a good deal of uninvited outsiders — show up to enjoy free food and the company of Skylar, the deans’ lovely dog.

Most unique by far of Kirk’s traditions is The Choosening. It would take a while to explain it in full, but the gist is that every Sunday at midnight, we gather in the dining hall to unveil a House-wide theme for the week, in a ceremony that features acting, chanting, and a livestream on our Instagram page, @itsweekweek. Then, throughout the week, we incorporate the theme in our weekly routine. Most recently, we said farewell to Milk week, for which we ate Milky Way candy bars and held milk chugging races with more than 25 participants (you can find my own valiant performance on our Instagram page).

Kirkland takes pride in our distinctiveness, and our party tradition reflects that spirit. Residents of the Kirkland nine-man — 10-man, if you count the mouse that lives in our walls — are expected to throw a party specifically for everyone in the house at least once a semester.

All this to say: House community is not a relic of the past, nor does it have to be a one-day phenomenon during Housing Day. While intramural participation can ignite House pride, especially as we ‘celebrate’ 90 years of the Straus Cup, it is just one piece of the puzzle. House staff and students should think of more ways to promote inclusivity within their walls.

Clearly, Kirkland is a model House. And more than that, it’s a testament that randomized Houses can still be every bit as vibrant as they once were, if only we care enough to try.

David I. Gonzalez ’25, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a double concentrator in Psychology and Economics in Kirkland House.