Participation and competition on the magnitude of Leverett's takes a great deal of time and effort on the part of the house's I.M. secretaries.

Fitzer says he and the other officers log in long hours all year long going to different event sites around the campus.

"Everyday, all day long, we were doing stuff," says I.M. junkie Fitzer. "We not only organized but we played too. It was ridiculous."

Participation or Wins?

But some critics of the house program complain about an emphasis on winning over participation.

While the complaints concern Fitzer and Rubin, the two claim to have already addressed the problem by creating two teams for each event: one "serious" and one "less serious."

"The main thing is to have fun," says Fitzer. "For a lot of us fun means winning."

"Anytime there's competition in sports, you're going to have people who feel they've been slighted. It's unavoidable," says Rubin.

Junior Brian Hirschfeld, another Leverett House intramural secretary, believes fierce competition is ingrained in the College.

"At a place like Harvard, it's impossible to play casually," says Hirschfeld.

Wentzell says he is also aware of some criticism of Leverett.

"From time to time I hear things are too intense," Wentzell says. "I just hope that the house secretaries would remember the principal of participation. That should be the center of it all."

Dunster Bowl

I.M. leaders from houses with low participation rates envy the enthusiastic support in Leverett for the program.

"It's just amazing how many people they get to come out," marvels Dunster senior Josh Glazeroff, who served as one of Dunster's intramural secretaries last year and has been captain of the house's crew program for the past two years.