Navigating the Harvard Social Scene

If you were admitted to Harvard, chances are that you have a Type A personality. If you were admitted to Harvard, have a Type A personality, and consider yourself a social person, chances are that you’re spending your last days at home kissing fun as you know it goodbye with indulgent self-pity, perhaps rueing your decision to attend Harvard over [insert state school here]. Maybe you’ve desperately sought out all of the Class of 2013 Facebook group members with an affinity for intoxicating substances. Maybe you’ve even created a group called “The Class of 2013 Social Crew.”

Chances are that you’ll never actually party with these people, you’ll regret creating that Facebook group, and you’ll never venture into Boston this year. (If you do, bouncers will laugh in your face as you try to sweet talk your way into bar.) But you will have fun, we promise.

Roughly 30 percent of people on campus “go out”, define the phrase as you will. Of those, many are athletes, freshman girls, or members of those elusive final clubs. Many, but not all.

Any collection of college students who spend enough time together will inevitably play together. The Sanctum in The Crimson has seen everything from table dancing compers to a lot of St. Patty’s Day smooching. That semi-secret Sorrento Square organization that used to occasionally publish a so-called humor magazine, otherwise known as the Harvard Lampoon, has been known to throw down a few good ones. Even the Undergraduate Council and DAPAs (Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisors) know how to have fun.

I heard Harvard freshmen guys can’t get into parties—is this true?

That said, there is some truth to the rumors of the freshman boy’s plight. You will get turned away from final clubs—which, in most senses, replace the fraternities at state schools, even though there are a few sororities and fraternities at Harvard. We like to think of final clubs as big playhouses for the boys, though there are four female final clubs. Your freshman girl friends might ditch you after the pregame to go final club hopping on Saturday nights, but you will have your revenge senior year when you invite BU girls to your date events—that is, if you decide to join a final club or fraternity. If not, you will learn to master the room party, in all its sweaty glory.

Some rooms are known to throw pretty solid events. These suites, scattered around the campus but most highly concentrated in the Quad (to compensate for the fact that the administration hates Quadlings), are usually freshman boy friendly venues. And their inhabitants fully accept their civic responsibility to host underclassmen. Freshman boys, keep your ears peeled for get-togethers hosted at what we’ll call alternative venues: upperclassmen houses, party suites, the occasional dining hall. We’re willing to wager that more freshmen attended Heaven and Hell in Currier House on Halloween weekend than the freshman formal or First Chance Dance.

Does Harvard hibernate in the winter?

The first week of school and shopping week are hopping. Halloween, Harvard-Yale weekend, the holiday season, reading periods, and garden party season are all fantabulous times to go out. That said, there aren’t really any bad months to have fun on campus (aside from March). If you’d like to get into the final club scene, Thursdays and Saturdays are almost always good nights to go out. Fridays can be questionable but are the perfect time to scoot on over to an MIT frat party. (Yes, we know what you’re thinking, but somehow MIT has lively Greek life and block parties.) And Monday nights at Uno’s are usually good for karaoke, especially for freshmen.

Fitting into the final club scene

If you’re interested in the final club scene, there are several do’s and don’ts you should be aware of. If you’re a freshman guy, do take advantage of the Delphic’s relatively lenient door policies. (But unless it’s garden party season—May—or summer, don’t go to the Delphic before 1 a.m and do not stay past 3.) If you don’t get in, don’t say The Crimson told you that you would. If you’re on a sports team, you’ll probably get into the Delphic and Owl on occasion, and you will most definitely enjoy the perks of team-hosted parties.

Freshman girls: do keep in mind that the social scene offers not only the opportunity to have fun and fraternize with the surprisingly good looking men of Harvard, but also the opportunity to work on your networking skills. You might just meet the girls who will become your future blockmates and best friends at a random white-out party freshman week. Sororities, female final clubs, and even the Freeze magazine mixers are a nice way to befriend girls with whom you have at least one thing in common—you like to have fun.

Now for some don’ts: Don’t act like you own the Delphic. If the President says don’t go upstairs, he’s not going to think it’s cute when you do. Don’t mock [insert club here]’s somewhat arcane rules—club members actually take them quite seriously. Don’t take it personally when there are more BU, BC, Wellesley, and Tufts girls at the AD’s Christmas party, or pink party, or Caddyshack party—it is no reflection on your wit, intellect, or desirability. (Just think of them as walking ego-boosters. They save you work.) Just don’t call them “imports” to their faces—Harvard girls keep it classy.

Lastly, if one scene is not for you, don’t worry. You’ll find your niche. But enough with the negatives—all right, maybe just one more. Don’t feel bad if you’re not inducted into the Hasty Pudding social club. Seriously. Unless your daddy was just featured on the Forbes’ annual billionaires list—in that case, do feel bad. You must have said something wrong.

—Staff writer Jillian K. Kushner can be reached at kushner@fas.harvard.edu.

For more information on the ins and outs of Harvard life, visit the My First Year homepage.