In January 1996, while first-years were facing their first reading period doldrums and an unusually blustery winter, the staff of Harvard Dining Services (HDS) was trying to ease their lives in at least one department.

At the end of that month, the Freshman Union would close its doors for good, and first-years would begin to eat in the newly restored Annenberg Hall across the Yard. Fearful that the transition from the Union to Annenberg would cause a rush on dining halls in the upperclass river houses, Quad Dining Services employees prepared a brochure--including a map with directions from the Yard to the Quad--and distributed it in the Union.

"It's a little far away for freshmen, but we made a map so at least they know how to get here," John Cortese, night supervisor for Quad Dining Services, said at the time.

Not only was the move from the Union to Annenberg historic, but the map instructing first-years on how to find the Quad was prophetic. That March, they would become the first class to be completely randomized into upperclass housing, with many more "Quadded" against their wishes.

The end of the Union and the beginning of randomization symbolize a landmark class that would be the first to witness many milestones, as well as the last to experience certain aspects of the College.

The election of the first female Undergraduate Council president led a wave of campus activism, and the arrival of a new dean of the College inaugurated a changed relationship between students and the adminstration.

Although it is difficult to characterize a sprawling and diverse class, graduating seniors say that certain experiences shared by their class have tinged its perspective and given it a distinct identity.

Year of the Blocking Group

Undoubtedly, the implementation of randomization directly impacted student life more than any event during the past four years. In the spring of 1995, while the class of 1999 was preparing to come to Harvard, the College announced that subsequent classes would have their upperclass housing determined at random, rather than by the non-ordered choice system that had been in place since the early '80s.

From the beginning, randomization was controversial. The Undergraduate Council urged the then-new dean of the College, Harry R. Lewis '68, to review the effects of the policy after three years. Several minority House tutors criticized the policy, alleging that randomization would decrease the effectiveness of support networks for minority students within the Houses.

This April, the College released the first set of blocking group data, which showed an upward trend in the number of large blocking groups after randomization, particularly those at or near the upper limit of 16 people. The data indi- cated that this year, there were 28 blockinggroups with the maximum number of 16 students,significantly more than in the previous threeyears.

Not surprisingly, then, as they pack up theirbelongings and move out of the Houses forever,graduating seniors say the most significant effectof randomization is the way it has made theirblocking groups more cohesive.

Kirkland resident Young K. Lee '99 says hisblock of 14 has come to be called "The Up withPeople Blocking Group" and "The AdmissionsFacebook Blocking Group" because they are suchtight friends to this day. Lee and his blockmatesfrequently eat dinner together, and last week theywere planning to take one last trip--to Martha'sVineyard--as a group.

Lee says he and his friends, most of whom livedin the same first-year entryway, decided to blocktogether because they had no say in their Houseselection and wanted at least to live near peoplethey knew and liked.

"We took the attitude that if we were going tobe stuck in a House...we'd rather be with all thepeople we wanted to," Lee says.

Jennifer R. Weinberg-Wolf '99 of Quincy has hada similar experience because of randomization. Sheand 12 of her friends from Canaday Hall blockedtogether and began to move around campus in a"herd."