An early morning quick-starter. An afternoon snack. The only viable option to baked ziti. There's probably only one food that everyone can count on for their nutriment needs: cereal. Every dining hall serves it, but do all Harvard students nosh on the same grains? As evidenced by the empty boxes in various houses, the answer to that would have to be no. Some results of an informal poll:

The Union: Not only do first-years have to wait on long lines to dine in this stellar establishment, but they also suffer through a less than impressive array of breakfast cereal; nine types were noted. The most popular types appeared to be the perennial favorite sugary-sweet Lucky Charms and Frosted Flakes. Perfect for providing the rush of energy needed to stay awake during Chem 5 and Math 1a.

Mather: 13 delicious varieties are available here, mostly strong, fiber-filled types such as Wheaties, Cheerios, Corn Flakes. According to the dining hall staff, Mather's predominantly athletic residents enjoy these cereals the most, though a recently acquired box of Honey Smacks constantly needs replenishing.

Dunster: A none-too-spectacular 10 options. Dunster provides all the basics, with a few sweet ones thrown in. The barrel of Life was running low and the boxes of All-Bran and Grape-Nuts also seemed to experience frequent use. Following this trend, it was surprising to find no boxes of granola in the cereal area.

Adams: A veritable mecca of cereal enjoyment. At last count, 17 different kinds of cereal. Granted, there are boxes of Crispix and Corn Flakes, but the Adams house resident can also dine on Froot Loops, Corn Pops, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Cap'n Crunch, Lucky Charms and a host of other tooth-rotting delights. Perhaps this wild array of artificial color and flavor helps to account for this house's decidedly non-conformist attitude. And after all, the first step towards tolerance is acceptance of others' cereal choices.