When we think about Mather, we think of its “unique” look and its signature boast that residents get singles for life– which they really do, and some freshmen may be looking forward to it after a year of the bunkbed life. The youngest house of Harvard’s residential colleges, Mather was first opened to students in only 1970. While it’s often referenced in conversations about how unattractive it looks (especially juxtaposed with Dunster), and also deemed as one of the farthest River houses you can get, there are some cool perks to living in the concrete jungle that you may not want to overlook.
404 residents
\r\n1 Pottery Studio
\r\n1 Wood-turning Studio
\r\n1 Tranquility Room
\r\n1 Multimedia Room
\r\n18 resident tutors
\r\nFall 2014 HoCo Budget: $18,574.71
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\r\nMather is divided up into two parts: the Low-rise and the Tower. The Low-rise, which is where most sophomores tend to live, consists of two floors of suites of singles for four, five, or six, of course with a huge common room as well. The six-person suites are often known for hosting parties, and Mather is known for throwing lots of parties. The Tower consists of 18 floors, with our very own Dean of Student Life Stephen Lassonde residing on the 19th floor. The Tower rooms are five-person suites of singles on one floor, huge common rooms on the other floor, and massive windows with a great view of Boston and the Charles River. There are two groups of five people living on each floor of the Tower. The housing in Mather is as sweet as it gets, and Matherites love to brag that having a single for all three years means you won’t be lonely at night (case in point: even the Mather gorilla found love this year thanks to his single).
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\r\n', [Living in Mather is great, that is once you complete the trek from your classes in the Yard back to the beloved concrete jungle. The dining hall offers a great view of the Charles and tends not be crowded with people from other houses due to its farther location. There’s also a great courtyard with grass in the center of the Mather complexes, a great option for warmer weather days.
\r\nMather HoCo is also known for the annual Mather Lather, a massive foam party that is said to be one of those Harvard events everyone has to experience at least once, huge happy hours every other week, and the race for the Louie Cup, a year-long intrahouse competition named in honor of the next-door Louie’s Superette. The House Masters of Mather are Christie McDonald, the Smith Professor of French Language and Literature in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures and Professor of Comparative Literature, and Michael Rosengarten, an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at McGill University, and they throw Open Houses with great food.
\r\nMather also uses its space well, with special rooms like the Tranquility Room where you can sleep and listen to soothing music, in addition to pottery and wood-turning facilities (though it remains a question as to whether or not people actually use these frequently).
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', [But we all know the main complaints about Mather, which includes its overwhelmingly concrete look and its distance from the Yard, which might prevent people from coming back to their house for lunch on a weekday. Keep in mind though that Harvard shuttles have a stop right in front of Mather, and you can be driven away to classes faster than the walk all the other River House residents have to make. I mean, if you get two-floored suites and guaranteed singles all three years, you can’t have it all, right?
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