"I was really looking forward to roommates whowanted to catch a game on the weekend," Blanchardsays.
Matthew P. Weinshall '02 shares a six-personsuite on the first floor of Greenough with threefellow Floridians, including David S. Fischer'02-one of his good friends since elementaryschool. The two did not request to room together.
Nathans writes that the practice of assigningstudents is not perfect-and that deans do notalways meet their goal of diversity within roominggroups.
"And when we err, we of course review ourprocedures, hoping to refine our rooming processto avoid such groupings for the future. We willnever, I fear, get it 'all right." Nathans writes.
But some students in less than diverse roomshave heard that homogenous groupings are notalways an accident.
In the case of the only two female suites onthe third floor of Weld, residents say AssistantDean of Freshmen Eleanor A. Sparagana told one ofthe 12 residents that they had been "handpicked"to live together.
In one of the rooms, four of the six women areblack.
"Maybe the first 10 minutes we were all like,'Oh, does this happen often?" Libby Shani '02says.
But she and her roommate Sarah P. Rotman '02,who are both white, say that despite the skewedracial distribution, the six roommates are allenergetic and social and, for those reasons, getalong well.
Striking a Balance
First-years and prefects across the campusagree that this year's housing situation works,but they do not think that homogenous groupingsshould be used across the College.
Nguyen. perfect yard captain, says typicalHarvard students spend the majority of their timein clubs and sports with people who share similarinterests of traits. She says the first-year dormsshould offer students the opportunity to meetdifferent types of people.
In a living community where many people sharecommon interests, "the people who aren't like thatfeel out of place," Nguyen says, "But I canunderstand why [the FDO] might do it because itmight make people more comfortable."
While Lahaie says he enjoys living with manyother athletes, he acknowledges that he might feelout of place if he were not so athleticallyinclined.
He suggests there should be a balance betweentotally random first-year housing and thehomogenous arrangement in Pennypacker.
According to Justin C. Denham '02 a varsityvolleyball player in Greenough, segregated groupsdo little to foster an understanding of othertypes of students.
"Sure, putting totally random people togetheris good for exposure," says Denham. "If you get anathletic dorm and an arts dorm...it closes themoff from everyone else."