1. The House mascot is a moose.
2. Dunster was the first House to undergo a full renovation. The 2015-2016 school year has been the first year for the renovated House.
3. There is a Big Moose & Little Moose mentor system, in which underclassmen are paired with upperclassmen in the House to bond and have study breaks together.
4. Dunster holds a yearly goat roast, where an actual goat is roasted.
5. Winter formals are usually held with Leverett and Mather, and spring formals are held in Dunster Courtyard.
6. The house committee presidents are Annalee Perez and UC VP Danny Banks.
7. The newly-renovated building features an art room with painting easels, as well as a communal kitchen.
8. The gorgeous bell tower is one of the most photographed icons of Harvard.
9. The Faculty Deans often generously offer trifle, candy, cake, and pies when people are studying late in the dining hall.
10. Al Gore and Tommy Lee Jones were roommates in Dunster back in the late 1960s.

Thanks to the recent renovations, Dunster’s once-vertical entryways are now horizontal entryways—a change that is being made in each renovation to make the new Houses fully accessible. With full wheelchair accessibility, Dunser now has an elevator and hallway bathrooms (although the lucky few suites do have in-suite bathrooms). The renovations also got rid of most of the common rooms, so most sophomores can expect to live in one-room doubles. Though these one room doubles are certainly not ideal, the beautiful interior and exterior of the brand new House make any living situation in Dunster pleasant. Though the rooms themselves may be small, there is plenty of common space around Dunster itself. There are many comfortable and spacious places to study and relax, including fully-furnished common rooms and conference rooms dispersed throughout the house. Another popular sophomore housing option is living in Dewolfe. While Dewolfe residents don’t get to actually live in the house, they do get the benefit of living closer to the Yard, having air conditioning for the hot summer months, and having in-suite kitchens.

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Dunster is a very spirited House with a strong House community, as exemplified in their involvement in intramural sports and HoCo events. The Dunster HoCo hosts well-attended clubs every other Friday, often with creative themes. The annual goat roast is also a great opportunity for Dunster residents to bond over roasted goat and bouncy castles. The Dunster community is incredibly tight knit, as the Faculty Deans Roger and Ann Porter often sit with their students for meals and even hold specially-themed open houses for the students to attend. Dunster also has a gorgeous dining hall, with a combination of long banquet-style tables as well as more intimate circular tables, that facilitates community. Dunster Grille is a great place to pick up mozzarella sticks late at night when Cinnamon Toasters and stale bagels aren’t quite making the cut. And there’s always the large gym which many Dunster and non-Dunster residents alike frequent. House community is strong, but it can be daunting at first for new sophomores. Luckily, Dunster has a Big Moose & Little Moose system that helps new sophomores get integrated into the house community by pairing them with an upperclassmen who they can get meals with and attend study breaks with.

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What is one thing you want freshmen to know about your House?
Annalee Perez ’17: Besides the cliché "We have a great community," I would change that a little to say that having a new House has certainly been a challenge to navigate this year but we are hoping to really change the community of Dunster around this new space and are excited for freshmen to be an important part of helping HoCo and staff know what they actually want Dunster to feel like. Being inclusive is one of the most important considerations for me on HoCo and for the House as a whole.

If you had to liken your House to a fruit, what fruit would it be and why?
Perez: So I\'m between a pineapple and strawberry. First, I was thinking pineapple because it\'s beautiful on the outside and takes a little work to get to the inside but it\'s rewarding and delicious once you have a nice slice. Strawberry is similar because they\'re pretty on the outside and still taste good on the inside. (But I would probably go with pineapple)

What Hogwarts house is your House most similar to?
Perez: As for a House, probably Hufflepuff. We aren\'t as good at IMs so not Gryffindor and I definitely don\'t think we\'re as evil and slimy as Slytherin. We are pretty loving and laid back. We definitely care about academics but we also like socializing and hanging out with friends