The reality is that House life is much more complex than simply facilitating meetings between residents. Especially after randomization, extracurriculars, athletics, religion and ethnic ties have eclipsed Houses as sources of close friendships and common meeting grounds. This is especially true by sophomore year, when students have had the chance to find their own niche within a vast and diverse campus.

In this sense, the word "integration"--thrown around by the College and House Masters as emblematic of a healthy House community--is both vague and misleading. To expect students to abandon their self-created social circles for the companionship of several hundred random residents is both silly and simple-minded. Social circles of varying sizes are an inevitable part of House and campus life. Eliminate them in the form of blocking and they will merely recreate themselves after subsequent rounds of the yarn game.

This is not to say we should abandon House community altogether. Rather, we need to abandon the misconception that social circles--large or small--necessarily lead to fragmentation. The challenge, rather, is to bridge these groups within each House by infusing a common respect for one other and a genuine love for the House and its traditions.

Despite a growing influx of large blocking groups, some Houses have managed to preserve their quirky traditions, strong House committee, active email list and successful intramural program. These are among the aspects that make for a healthy House life. And they can thrive regardless of blocking group size.

Labeling large blocking groups as insular or anti-social is easy. What is hard, however, is realizing that at times this insularity may stem from a rooming procedure that often throws entire blocking group into an isolated corner of the House. Or it may result because house-wide events celebrate meaningless mixing rather than substantive communal activity.

Harder still is acknowledging the positive contributions of blocking groups, both large and small. Just as the myriad of student groups on campus give Harvard a particular vibrancy, the spectrum of blocking arrangements makes the House an exciting place to live.

Fiddling with numbers doesn't help at all. It only turns our House system into a muddled, vapid ball of yarn.

Richard S. Lee '01 is a social studies concentrator in Pforzheimer House. His column will appear biweekly.