Dunster upperclassmen cheer inside Annenberg to welcome freshmen assigned to their house yesterday. Housing assignments were distributed to freshman

Lowell House resident Alexander L. Edelman ’07 sat perched on the dining hall window ledge, light blue bedsheet draped over his shoulders.

“I’m sort of going for the superhero-type theme with the cape,” he said, peering through his blue mask.

“That’s nice—Lone Ranger-style,” said Patrick G. Mauro ’07, blue paint slathered over his body.

At 9:15 a.m. yesterday, Edelman and Mauro were among a handful of Lowell residents who made the early morning wake-up call to welcome new freshmen.

“I didn’t go to sleep last night,” said Lowell House Committee (HoCo) co-chair Kaartiga Sivanesan ’06.

Like Lowell, most HoCos have devoted a good chunk of the spring semester to organizing events to welcome new freshmen.

By yesterday morning, when freshmen received their housing assignments, the HoCos were prepared to turn out in full force at Annenberg, armed with t-shirts, posters, and slogans emphasizing their respective Houses’ superiority.

GETTING READY

The first HoCo meeting of the semester was spent planning Welcome Day, according to Winthrop House freshman coordinator Sarah M. Kinsella ’07.

The preparation even included a trek to Chinatown for a lion costume, Winthrop resident Christine E. Cherella ’07 said Thursday night, referring to the House mascot.

For Lowell, planning for “warpaint” alone took as much as three hours the night before, according to Sarah C. Duncan ’07.

“I’m painting all exposed parts of my body,” Duncan, who is also a Crimson editor, said Thursday night. “I’m sacrificing my skin for the freshmen.”

Sivanesan estimated that Lowell HoCo shelled out around $2,000 on t-shirts, decorations, art supplies, and food.

STORMING THE YARD

Just before 10 a.m. yesterday, HoCo members readied a group of seven Lowell residents to storm the Yard, distributing hand-painted posters, smearing an “L” on bare cheeks, and outfitting enthusiastic participants with White-Castle themed t-shirts that read “Lowell House—It’s What You Crave.”