“Students need to feel as if they can come in and sit down to relax for an hour between classes but at the same time must still see the pub as a place where they can socialize and party in the evenings. In other words, it must be convenient to students all the time while still retaining a distinctly ‘pub-like’ feel,” John B. Freese ’06 says.
Other students also seem to expect the pub to be popular among their classmates.
“I do think that the Pub is something students want and need—a non-exclusive college-y social space that is uniquely Harvard,” Lindsey E. Gary ’06 says.
“Just look at the faceboook group—Harvard students want to be ‘college’ students,” she says, referring to the 636 member (as of last night) facebook.com group “The Coalition For the Permanent Establishment of a Harvard College Pub--Please Build Real-soon.”
Prepping for the Pub
The administration has taken a broad approach to the pub plans, including “researching” comparable campus pubs across the country.
Corker has visited many campus pubs since last spring, including college pubs in California.
And another local research site is the new Cambridge venue, “Phatt Boys,” which has become popular to Harvard students of all ages in part because it allows students who are under 21 to come in to the bar, but not drink, similar to the Harvard pub’s planned policy.
As of now, the plan is to allow anyone into the Pub, but keep the emphasis on undergraduates.
Pub construction is one part of developing an interim plan for places to socialize before more space becomes available in 10 years with the construction of a campus in Allston, Kidd says.
Though the administration has made a special effort to put aside both time and money to aid social life at Harvard, it has at times been hard to convince the entire University that this goal is important.
At the first faculty meeting of the year, Music Department chair Ingrid Monson questioned the funding of social improvements in the face of slowing financial support for new hires.
“Can you please clarify where hiring fits into the budgetary priorities of the university, especially in relationship to Allston planning and the Crimson’s recent announcement of very substantial funding for student pubs and cafes?” Monson asked Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby during the meeting.
But administrators have of late strongly supported school-sponsored social life planning.
The construction of the permanent pub is one component of a broad administrative effort to take an active role in boosting students’ satisfaction with their lives outside of academics and extracurricular activities.
“I think that while we try to do other things like ensure more meaningful contact with faculty and improve advising that we have an obligation to help people relax and enjoy one another’s company and feel part of the community,” Dingman says. “If those things can happen, people may feel more prepared for their other activities.”
“It’s a springboard to take advantage of all offerings,” he adds.
And support for the permanent pub has increased following the success of the Loker Pub Nights that were initiated last February.
“Campus social life is certainly worth supporting,” Corker writes in an e-mail. “A strong sense of community and a vibrant social life strengthen both the undergraduate experience and the College as a whole.”
—Staff writer Nicole B. Urken can be reached at urken@fas.harvard.edu.