Some students say they started out visiting Boston a lot, then slacked off as the semester progressed.

"I did [go into Boston] a lot at first but now I've kind of stopped going in as much," says J. Elisenda Grigsby '98. "You get busy and then you just kind of stay here."

"I guess it's just time. On the weekends, I have so much work... I just sleep 'til two o'clock and just do my work," says Seth D. Hanlon '98.

Other factors also keep students out of the city. For younger undergraduates, one problem may be a strict carding policy in some Boston clubs.

"If they allow drinking, a lot of the clubs won't let people under 21 in at all," Lieberman says.

"I don't go to a lot of clubs or pubs in Boston because my ID sucks," says Kawika D.B. Chetron '97. "No one at Harvard Square would actually turn you down for a bad ID."

The dearth of other Harvard students in Boston is another reason undergraduates give for not traveling outside the Square.

"Why go into Boston when you can go into the [Crimson Sports] Grille?" H. Christopher Simonds '96 asks. "That's where I usually end up going because everyone else is there."

"If I want to hang out, I usually hang out around Harvard because I know more people around here," Yoon says.

Students also say there are enough entertainment attractions on campus or in Harvard Square to keep them in Cambridge.

"Anything I'd want to go into Boston for is in Cambridge," Hanlon says.

Jake S. Yoston '96 says after his Yale-plagued hometown, the Square looks pretty good.

"Cambridge is pretty nice itself," he says. "I'm from New Haven, so even being in Cambridge itself is an improvement."

What to Do?

Not all students avoid Boston. For some, it is a source of jobs.