Houses become homes
Bundled up against the morning chill, tourists in Harvard Yard blinked in befuddlement as Currier House upperclassmen in green bathing suits cheered wildly as they raced a brisk victory lap past Harvard’s stately brick buildings. Welcome to Housing Day at Harvard. Freshmen, who spend their first year on campus in dormitories in Harvard Yard, were sorted into one of Harvard’s 12 upperclass Houses on Thursday. To welcome incoming residents, upperclassmen poured into the Yard sporting their House colors, brandishing thundersticks, and crowd-surfing their mascots, all while chanting support for their own House — and jeering at the others. Early in the morning, Pforzheimer House residents and tutors gathered in the “PfoHo” dining hall to don House swag, affix temporary tattoos, and get fired up to welcome the new residents. “It’s important to let the freshmen know that they’re welcome at the Houses,” said PfoHo resident Elizabeth Harvey ’14. “It’s also one of the few...