Working on a common project, as opposed to mere mingling, forces students from separate blocking groups to get to know one another well. Consequently, such activities do much to improve House community.

It is curious that House traditions have survived randomization, especially since so many were invented and perpetuated by the certain type of students who lived in non-randomized houses. Who other than the decadent aesthetes in Adams would indulge in the renowned debauchery of the Masquerade? Who but the social libertines in Dunster--the same folks who sustained a pornography appreciation society--would support a deliciously Pagan feast? Now, supposedly, the artists and Pagan sympathizers are gone, or at least as common as every other type of student, but the traditions remain.

If such quirky traditions need strong sources, why do they continue? Perhaps because Harvard students are, in some sense, natural conservatives: they respect the age and mystique of their surroundings, find even godless festivals inviting, and continue baseless customs and pure traditions as a result. If this is true, one need not worry about House character which consists of the various traditions which separate one House from another. House community, however, is a horse of a different color.

Some traditions, like the Eliot House Evening with Champions, sustain House community amid randomization. To the extent that the Administration and House Masters can support such traditions--extended activities involving a large portion of residents--they should do so.

Primarily through fostering these types of traditions, and not necessarily through tweaking blocking group size, can they save House community.

Hugh P. Liebert '01 is a social studies concentrator in Eliot House. His column appears on alternate Tuesdays.