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Let’s face it: Harvard’s social scene leaves something to be desired.

This past August, while awaiting Harvard’s move-in date, I helped a friend from home move in at Slippery Rock University in Western Pennsylvania. I hoped to experience SRU’s student nightlife, but the usual fraternity options were unavailable that weekend. Instead, my friend begrudgingly suggested that we check out Slippery Rock’s last resort: “The Grove.”

The party spot was an open field in a student apartment complex of the same name, furnished with nothing but a table that ended up being flipped several times. Despite the twenty to thirty minute walk away from most other residential buildings on Slippery Rock’s campus, the Grove was packed with an impressive array of different personalities.

If I were a Slippery Rock student, I probably wouldn’t be a regular there — talking with strangers has a limited shelf life. However, the idea of a radically inclusive, “if-all-else-fails” social space is one Harvard could learn from.

At Slippery Rock and other schools I’ve visited, I have always noticed more open dorm room doors, more truly public and student-oriented spaces, and freer socializing. Harvard has one of the most interesting student bodies in the world — there is no need to keep away from each other.

Harvard students often separate themselves into existing groups, leaving endless connections on the table. I, too, am guilty of this. It is almost impossible to find a universal or public space at Harvard that exists just for the sake of being around one another.

This problem exists in off-campus options as well with the relative lack of traditional college bars or dive bars in Harvard Square. There are very few, if any, “third places” for all Harvard students to enjoy together. Such a gathering of people from all corners of social life at Harvard may happen at Harvard-Yale or at Yardfest, but the focus on football or music makes extensive socializing quite difficult.

Even at these events, the University administration’s overinvolvement has diminished enthusiasm for many, myself included: When Harvard students enjoyed Yale’s 2023 tailgate more than recent equivalents at Harvard, one administrator accused students of “crashing” an alumni party. Pan-undergraduate social opportunities are few and far between, and the ones that exist are often bogged down by overbearing rules.

Even the third places that are around at Harvard do not facilitate student socializing. In Harvard Square’s bars, such as Grendel’s Den, Shay’s Pub and Winebar, or Grafton Street Pub & Grill, individual tables for parties make it difficult to meet anyone other than the party you came with. Pool tables, dance floors, and other features that might facilitate meeting a new person or group are generally lacking.

Harvard’s social scene needs a new staple — somewhere that any Harvard student could go to meet another student they may not have otherwise, or somewhere to go if there is nothing else to do. This could be a dingy dive with a few pool tables (my personal preference), or a convenient open space à la Grove.

Of course, I don’t expect students would spend most of their social time there. My friends are my friends for a reason — I enjoy spending time with them, and am not always in the mood to mingle with new folks. If my friend’s frat brother had been free, that’s where we would have been. To always have another option just in case it’s needed at Harvard, would be nice.

Though not a catch-all by any means, a space to which students could say “what the hell, sure” on any given night could give Harvard’s social scene a much-needed revitalization.

Adam N. Chiocco ’27, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a Philosophy concentrator in Pforzheimer House.