At Expanded Johnnies Ceremony, Lowell House Sweeps Top Honors

Lowell House took home both the Harvard Choice Award and Video of the Year at the second annual Johnnies on Saturday night, leading a field of winners at the Housing Day video awards ceremony in Sanders Theatre.

The event, organized by the Dean of Students Office and the Crimson Key Society, drew more than 600 ticketed attendees — a sharp increase from last year’s inaugural ceremony, which hosted roughly 30 invited guests at the Graduate School of Education’s Gutman Conference Center.

“Last year, students did not pick who won the different categories,” said Crimson Key Society Vice President Rachel A. Akinla ’27. “That was done by a separate panel. So there wasn’t really a student participation in who won these awards.”

At last year’s ceremony, five of six categories were decided by a panel of seven judges composed of Harvard administrators and outside members. But this year, students voted in five categories.

Lowell House won overall Video of the Year, Currier House won Best Editing and Visual Effects, Dunster House took Best Lyrics, Adams House won Best Choreography, and Winthrop House earned Most House Pride.

The Harvard Choice Award — the sole category selected by College deans, faculty, and experts in the arts — went to Lowell House.

The Johnnies were created two years ago by Dean of Students Thomas G. Dunne, who said in an interview that the videos’ production quality warranted formal recognition.

“I’ve watched the Harvard Housing Day videos for a long time, even before I came to Harvard, and I have some sense of how much work goes into a project like that,” Dunne said. “When I got up here and better understood the fullness of the Housing Day tradition, I thought it'd be a great way also to recognize all the work that goes into the videos.”

Akinla said the ceremony is a natural extension of the Crimson Key Society’s existing partnership with the DSO, which includes coordinating on Commencement, Convocation, and freshmen orientation events.

“The DSO has a lot of resources and contacts across the College, and it’s cool that we’re able to work with them and bring our energy and fun,” she said.

The awards were interspersed with performances from several student organizations. The Expressions Dance Company drew a standing ovation with a backflip-heavy set. The Immediate Gratification Players, Harvard’s improv comedy troupe, performed skits riffing on Lowell House’s bell ringing and what the group described as Mather’s prison-like architecture.

The night’s final performance came from “DJ Domus” — Eliot Faculty Dean David F. Elmer ’98 — who stirred the audience to its feet with a mashup of “No Diggity” and “Here Comes the Hotstepper.”

The ceremony capped a week of Housing Day festivities that included the College’s move of Housing Day to the week after spring break, a first-ever alumni fundraising challenge, and a series of spirit week events.

College Dean David J. Deming said in an interview that the winning videos shared a common thread.

“A good House video has lots and lots of people from the House in it,” Deming said. “It’s not really about the music or the lyrics. It’s the pride and the community spirit that the House video shows, and you can see that in the winners tonight.”

Isa Long ’26, a senior in Lowell, said participating in her House’s video had been a highlight of her undergraduate experience.

“I think the Housing Day video, I would encourage everyone to do it at least once at their time at Harvard,” Long said. “It made my senior year.”

Johnnies’ host Joy R. Ho ’26 closed the night by stepping back from the interhouse rivalry.

“Wherever you live, whatever house you’re at, you always bleed crimson,” she said.

Deming, reflecting on the broader changes to Housing Day this year, struck an optimistic note.

“Change is always hard,” he said, “but I think this year’s Housing Day went really, really well.”

“It felt like a real multi-day experience in a way that wasn’t true in the past,” he added.