Liebman says this isolation and the lack of social options in the Yard for freshmen can lead to a deflated and uncomfortable social scene.

“I think it’s probably bad for the social scene because you have freshmen who are compelled to go to final clubs or upperclass parties as opposed to where they might feel more comfortable. It pushes people out to things that may be less appropriate for them,” he says.

Changes to the fall orientation week for freshmen are geared toward fostering greater interaction between incoming students and upperclassmen while also building relationships among the freshmen.

McLoughlin says that freshmen will be introduced to the Harvard community in “layers,” with five more social events to supplement the traditional freshmen-only ice cream party.

The final social event will be a school-wide barbecue mixing freshmen and upperclassmen before the activities fair. Incoming Campus Life Fellow Justin H. Haan ’05, who is working with the Prefect Program and the Crimson Key Society to revamp next year’s Freshman Week, says that one of his top priorities will be increasing social options.

“I think the freshman year experience is so important because so much of social life here at Harvard revolves around House life,” Haan says. “There is very little freshmen and upperclass interaction. There really is a disconnect there.”

OVERCOMING AWKWARDNESS

But some say the enclosed nature of freshman year is crucial to forming bonds with other freshmen and adjusting to college life.

Raman says that while House life feels more “like college whereas the Yard might not” to some students, many freshmen are not prepared to be dropped into an “Animal House-like experience” their first year.

“The first year is a transitional year on so many different levels, and that’s what makes life in the Yard unique,” he says.

Brent Bell, the outgoing director of the First-Year Outdoor Program, says the Yard’s self-contained community helps to alleviate fears about social interaction held by most freshmen.

“Keeping all the first-year students together I think does give an opportunity...with everybody starting at the same level,” Bell says, adding that he has received “consistent feedback as to how awkward and uncomfortable people feel in the first couple of weeks.”

McLoughlin points to a crucial tension at hand—the importance of addressing concerns specific to freshman year while at the same time allowing for more integration between freshmen and the rest of the College.

“I think that if freshmen didn’t connect with their entryway and then their dorm and then their class before they began to be friends with upperclassmen, then they’re missing out,” McLoughlin says.

McLoughlin has been part of a University Hall push for more College-sponsored social events. While this year’s Pub Nights in Loker Commons were geared toward the entire campus, McLoughlin says that more social opportunities just for freshmen will be implemented by the time the Class of 2010 enters Harvard. He says this may include the pairing of entryways to hold events such as movie nights and study breaks together.