Every September, the Freshman Arts Program (FAP), the First-Year Outdoor Program (FOP) and the First-Year Urban Program (FUP) introduce first-years to their classmates and orient them to life at Harvard. These programs and the many others that operate before upperclass registration are dependent on the older students who donate their time and effort to improving the first-year experience. Without these upperclass students, there would be no hikes in New England, no talent shows, no smiling faces at the Freshman Activities Fair or in Harvard admissions brochures.

Yet this year, the upperclass students who arrived early to help out incoming first-years were given a rather cold welcome. The dining halls in the Houses did not open for general use until Sept. 7, and the students who staff FAP, FOP and FUP were denied their customary access to Annenberg dining hall. As a result, many groups were forced to spend their own funds to feed their members for the week and many other students ate on their own.

Any time that a student volunteers to do a service to fellow students at the University’s request, Harvard has a responsibility to provide basic support. The ability to eat while participating in first-year orientation is not an unreasonable demand. But because Harvard did not live up to this responsibility, numerous groups had to purchase meals for their upperclass leaders out of scarce resources that should have been applied to the orientation programs themselves.

We recognize that the schedule for the start of the fall semester this year was an unusual one, due to the long span of time between the opening of the Houses and the start of classes. This change was a welcome one for many students who found the early move-in more convenient. Yet administrators were undoubtedly concerned that students would take advantage of a week without responsibilities to move back en masse or to throw wild parties. The University Housing Office website dissuaded students from returning early by noting that private parties would not be allowed and that the dining halls would not be open.

We are not sure that fears of uncontrolled revelry were justified, nor are we certain that closing the dining halls would be effective in keeping students away. But the disincentive of a week without dining halls should not be applied indiscriminately to students who had good reason for returning and those who merely wanted to enjoy themselves.

The College could easily arrange in the spring to provide dining privileges to the groups that begin their activities before upperclass registration. There is no reason to make fall move-in more difficult for those students willing to give of themselves to maintain one of Harvard’s greatest assets, its vibrant extracurricular life.