We agree with the staff's underlying assertion that blocking group size should remain a matter of student choice. But for this very reason, we are wary of their implicit conception of an "ideal" blocking group.

It is tempting to interpret the trend towards larger blocking groups as indicative of an increasingly fragmented and atomized House community. In this light, the Staff encourages future first-years to limit blocking groups to only their "close friends and potential roommates."

However, this near-sighted approach neglects the very qualities of a "nebulous" conception of blocking. Each student's unique first-year experience produces an infinitely diverse array of personal bonds. Reducing any particular network of friendships to mere factors of size of intimacy ignores their individual richness and worth. It is up to each individual student--through personal introspection and open dialogue--to determine the ideal blocking group. The end result might happen to be a large, small, tight-knit or diffuse group. It could mean a group that encapsulates one's entire social circle or one that exists solely for convenience.

Most important is that despite these differences, each blocking group has the same potential to contribute positively to the House community. The challenge, then, lies not in deriving some ideal definition of blocking, but rather, in successfully integrating these diverse groups into a larger whole. Meeting this challenge requires the collective efforts of everyone who belongs--or will belong--to a House. --Jenny E. Heller '01   Richard S. Lee '01