Mascots and Face Paint: Housing Day

After weeks of trash-talking on open lists, furious debate about T-shirt designs, and age-old rituals dedicated to the housing gods, Housing Day arrived, a madhouse of early-morning wake-up calls, face paint, and screaming mascots.

And just as freshmen reaction ranged yesterday from joy to tears, upperclassmen showed their House spirit in a variety of ways, from a moonbounce to a Beirut tournament.

Mather House, long famed for its Housing Day fervor, gathered its army of over 100 residents to storm the Yard at 7 a.m., according to spirited Matherite Troy C. Murrell ‘09.

“Everybody in Mather wanted everybody outside of Mather to understand what kind of spirit we have,” he said.

Matherites had been prepping for the day all week, running through Annenberg with banners and making a video boasting about their House life, which took its creators seven hours to edit, according to Murrell.

Their events culminated in a Beirut tournament for rising sophomores last night.

Many Houses took the opportunity to shape the reputation they wanted to convey to their new residents.

“If there’s going to be one word for Pfoho, it’s got to be chill,” said Pforzheimer House Committee Co-Chair Noah A. Rosenblum ’08.

“We’re down-to-earth people, we’re a little ridiculous...I think that’s the image we’ve tried to go for all through this.”

True to this whimsical attitude, the PfoHo House Committee rented out an inflatable moonbounce—just for Pfohosers.

“We actually have a bunch of Pfohosers in front with a bouncer list,” Rosenblum said—pun probably intended.

However, not all Houses prepared for the big day with such intensity. Leverett House, for one, stuck to the reliable T-shirts and goodie bags with rabbit candies, representing the House’s mascot, according to new Leverett resident Azeemah Kola ’10.

But, she added, spectacle wasn’t her primary concern.

“I’m actually really happy because I really just wanted to be on the River, and I really didn’t want to be in Dunster or in the Quad,” Kola said.

Echoing this sentiment, Caroline L. Pinkas ‘10, upon opening her envelope yesterday morning, said she was initially dismayed to find she had been exiled to Cabot House.

“We were really bummed, but then...when we went for lunch today, we were mobbed by a huge fish and lots of people,” she said. “The fish was dancing, Cabot people were stomping, it was great.”

—Staff writer Aditi Banga can be reached at abanga@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Victoria B. Kabak can be reached at vkabak@fas.harvard.edu.