Quad vs. River: the Final Judgment

Like HUDS’ apple crisp versus congo bars, whether the River or the Quad is better is a question undergraduates love to dispute. But while this debate rages on in dining halls from Cowperthwaite to Linnaean Street, an economics student at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences could soon settle the question once and for all.

Bryce A. Ward’s thesis—“Distance and Social Capital: Can Isolation be Good?”, to be completed in June—takes the timeless question on with some statistical analysis. The end to the war may not be near, though. Ward has not yet decided which is better overall. Instead, he found that there were perks to living in both areas. According to one survey, Ward discovered that Quadlings were more likely than their River counterparts to indicate that they were “very satisfied” with their House-life experiences.

But Quadlings need not rejoice too quickly. Ward also finds that students who reside in the Quad are six to 18 percent less likely to be involved in River-based activities.

Ward points out that these students make up for this deficit by becoming more involved with their own house’s social activities. Jason W.A. Gabler, Pforzheimer’s assistant to the senior tutor, agrees with Ward.

“It doesn’t seem that kids in the Quad are any less pleased,” Gabler says.

And with some help from thefacebook.com, Ward also learned that students living in river Houses have a “less house-centric social network.”

But there are others who don’t agree with Ward’s initial conclusions. Dunster House History Tutor Daniel J. Sargent warned against generalizing, noting that social life in his own house is “very self-contained.”

Not all data have been compiled, but with his thesis date quickly approaching, Ward soon expects to have a clearer idea of which part of the Harvard campus reigns supreme. HUDS debates will just have to wait for a different graduate student.