House Life
On Housing Day, Delight, Disappointment, and a Kitchen Mishap
Hundreds of upperclassmen gathered in Harvard Yard to partake in the annual Housing Day ritual of welcoming freshmen to their new upperclassmen Houses.
Visualize Your House!
As of Wednesday evening Flyby officially released the rankings of all 12 Houses. Now that freshmen have been informed of their respective Houses, it's important to remember that rankings don't tell the whole story. This gallery shows that there is a lot to love about every House. Each image contains a word cloud of a respective House's answers to the question "What is the best thing about your House?" With the word "community" appearing prominently on every image, it seems clear that House life is what you make of it. Get excited, class of 2015!
Housing Day: A Holiday
Although House life has come to be seen as a defining part of the Harvard experience, the actual traditions of Housing Day, when all freshmen are placed in their future homes, are less than a decade old.
Polar Bear Lectures in Sociology 190
Professor Nicholas A. Christakis, a Pforzheimer House Master, wears his house spirit by lecturing in a polar bear costume in Sociology 190 on Wednesday.
Midterms Thwart Housing Day Joy
While much of the student body revels in Housing Day celebrations on Thursday, some students will sit out the festivities, stuck in classrooms racking their brains during a midterm.
Housing Day Goes Tumblr
In the pre-Housing Day flurry, several Houses have begun rolling out promotional tumblr blogs. Cabot House's tumblr features its mascot, the Cabot Fish, planking in front of various Harvard hotspots such as the steps of Memorial Church, the doorway of The Crimson, and even the Sanders stage before an Ec 10 lecture. Lowell, too, launched a tumblr, which rides on the coattails of the Harvard meme trend with images featuring captions like: "Significant other got quadded / Long distance relationship."
River Run To Be Watched by Police
Harvard University Police will be out in increased numbers to monitor underage drinking during River Run.
Kirkland House
As part of our Housing Market series, we'll be posting reviews and rankings for each of Harvard's 12 residential Houses over the next few days. Click here to read more about the series. Laying claim to the number one spot in this year's rankings, Kirkland has plenty of perks: a plethora of House traditions including the ever-infamous Incestfest, adorable House Masters with even more adorable dogs, a world record in its courtyard, and a location close to class, Noch's, and the MAC. Kirkland is one of Harvard's smallest Houses, so freshmen, beware—it won't be easy to get in, but if you do, you'll never want to leave.
Eliot House
Behind its double doors lies Eliot House, coming in at number two on Flyby's Housing rankings this year! Founded as one of the seven original Houses in 1931, the House had a reputation as the 'Prep' House, home to Harvard's elite and wealthy, before housing became randomized. It is named after Charles William Eliot, President of the University from 1869-1909, and is known for its prominence on the water, both in IM crew and in river accessibility. Never falling below fifth in any category in the poll, Eliot is truly a House to be proud of this Housing Day.
The Housing Lottery: Then And Now
It’s the week of Housing Day at Harvard, and rumors are flying. As freshmen anxiously await the results of the lottery that will assign them to a House come Thursday morning, conspiracy theories abound.
