But Jonathan J. Koppell '93 says Cabot's social scene is not that different from the rest of the College.

"No one has ever accused Cabot as being overly boisterous, but it's not like Harvard is a bastion of partying," Koppel says. "At Harvard, everything is skewed toward the lame end and Cabot is right in there."

House Masters Jurij and Emanuela Striedter say that Cabot offers many opportunities for students to become involved in house activities. They mention the annual Dutch Auction, the Underground Theatre, the frequent dinner talks with famous speakers and the weekly Coffee Table as examples.

Students also refer to the annual fish dance and last year's "lambing" ceremony, when a tutor bid to be massaged with several pieces of lamb meat.

Many say that it is impossible to assign Cabot a specific personality because the house is so diverse.

"We do have the nerd world and the third world, but Cabot is too diverse to assign one type," Fonseca says.

Fonseca says students must work especially hard to cohere because many were randomized into the house and have a wide variety of interests.

"There is no one person who is Mr. Cabot House or Ms. Cabot house," Guiney says.

Jurij Striedter, a professor of Slavic and Comparative Literature, says his student and tutor populations are diverse in many ways--ethnically, culturally and socially.

"Diversity even starts with the masters," says Striedter, who is German.

Some Cabot residents say that this diversity is the house's greatest strength, but others view it as one of the house's weaknesses.

In the past, Cabot House was perceived as a "hotbed" for racial tensions. For instance, heated debate followed last April's riots in Los Angeles.

"It would be a stretch to say that the racial controversies here have brought the house together, but it has brought a shared awareness of a problem," Koppell says. "The result has been intense, but productive and enlightening."

Robinson, the house committee chair, says it is hard to generate a sense of unity among the more than 400 students. But she says that residents are trying to pull the house together.

"Because we have had racial problems in the past, people want to understand what happened. There is definitely a heightened sensitivity about these issues and people are making a sincere effort to accept differences," Robinson says.