Beautifying dorm grounds
Isaac Dayno likes to get his hands dirty. The Harvard College freshman grew up in Vermont and sometimes longs to work on the land rather than at a desk in Widener Library. So when the Freshman Dean’s Office invited Dayno recently to participate in a campus beautification project — and to connect with classmates in the process — he jumped at the chance to get outside. “Coming from rural Vermont, it was a way to experience something familiar in a foreign place,” he said. “I mulched and planted shrubs, bulbs, and other plants around the Union dorms and the Freshman Dean’s Office. I also cultivated new friendships and nurtured those that I had already begun. The project let me give back to the community around me and express pride in where I live.” The landscaping project was part of a new push to get students invested in the campus community by inviting...