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Harvard sophomores flooded the sunny steps of Widener Library on Friday to celebrate the College’s official concentration declaration deadline, posing for pictures with banners of their chosen departments and programs while enjoying piles of Joe's pizza.
The event has been hosted annually by the Harvard Undergraduate Association’s Academic Team since 2023. HUA Academic Officer Hyunsoo Lee ’28 said planning began “three months ago,” adding that he was pleased with the sophomores’ turnout and enthusiasm.
“We had a lot of work to do, including getting all the banners ready, pubbing it out to students, getting literally 150 pizzas from Joe’s was a struggle,” he said.
“But I’m so glad I did it, because I see next to me so many sophomores, all my friends who are getting together for possibly the last time before graduation,” Lee added.
Attendees also said they enjoyed the event, describing it as a good opportunity to see friends, fellow classmates, and celebrate the start of a new academic chapter at Harvard.
“I think it’s really fun. I feel like it’s a really big milestone, and I’m really excited about it,” Leela L.R. Strand ’28 said.
“I’m seeing everybody, especially people from last year that I haven’t seen this semester because we don’t have similar classes,” Megan A. Legault ’28 said.
HUA Co-President Abdullah Shahid Sial ’27 also said he was satisfied with the event and “really happy with the turnout we saw.”
“The Academic Team did a fantastic job of setting up a space to celebrate a key event in every Harvard student’s academic career. The HUA will continue to support, to the best of its abilities, any initiatives catered towards community building on campus,” he wrote in a statement to The Crimson.
Most students interviewed by The Crimson said they did not know that the HUA had organized the Declaration Day event, though the HUA displayed signage bearing their logo.
Many sophomores also reported difficulty getting ahold of their concentration’s banner at the celebration, since there was only one of each for the entire class to share.
“It’s kind of a pain being an Econ or Gov major and having one sign for a few hundred kids, but we make it work,” Stephen A. Behun ’28 said. “People are being very nice so far, very much like, ‘I’ll give it to you when I’m done.’”
“It’s a little chaotic trying to find your flag, but overall I think that kind of adds to the nice social aspect of it all because you have to find the people who are in your concentration,” Legault said.
Lee said he would get “a few more banners” for the next iteration of the event, but that he was ultimately pleased with how it turned out.
“HUA is feeling awesome about this. As someone who organized this, I’m really proud of the time I put into this all of the last three months,” he said. “It’s definitely rewarding.”
—Staff writer Claire L. Simon can be reached at claire.simon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @ClaireSimon.
