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Harvard students said the College’s decision to move Housing Day to the Friday after spring break could disrupt a beloved undergraduate celebration — but was unlikely to “make or break” the excitement of being assigned to an upperclassman House.

Housing Day, which has taken place on the Thursday before spring break since 2008, sorts freshmen into Harvard’s 12 upperclassmen Houses. Upperclassmen storm freshmen dorms with signs, House swag, and letters telling them where they will live for the next three years.

For current upperclassmen, the new date alters a highly anticipated annual milestone. Some said the tradition’s placement before spring break lent it an extra thrill — and gave students time to recover from the revelry before resuming classes.

“It being right before spring break had people super hype,” said Isabela C. Gonzalez-Lawand ’26, a Mather resident. “I took my midterm, I had Housing Day, and then I literally went off to spring break that night. It just felt like a Friday.”

Nhaomi J. Lartey ’27, a current Lowell House resident, said Housing Day “was a nice way to end the first half of the spring semester before leaving for break.”

Quincy House resident Jasai E. Martinez ’26 said he worried the shift would dull the day’s spirit.

“I’m angry. I’m sad. It honestly shattered my heart,” Martinez said. “Now, the current class will not get to have that same excitement that I did just a few years ago, and it’s been a long tradition to have it on the Thursday before spring break for many years.”

But several students recalled the stress of balancing Housing Day festivities with midterms, which instructors often try to fit in before students leave campus for break.

“I did know about people who had midterms that day, and that was sad because they couldn’t enjoy everything fully,” said Michelle S. Merchan ’27, who lives in Currier House. “But it was a nice way to wake up early. I feel like nobody really minded.”

For Gonzalez-Lawand, the timing was part of the tradition’s appeal.

“People are usually, leading up to housing day, spending the week making sure that all their work is done and that they are pretty studied for their midterms,” she said.

Chiamaka A. Ihejirika ’27 said that the new date could be more convenient. Many freshmen spend the night before Housing Day trying to take a drink in all nine River Houses, turning the occasion into a time-consuming tradition.

“That’s an overnight thing,” Ihejirika said. “And it also goes from having dorm-storm at eight in the morning to immediately going to class — and it’s midterm season. So that’s not really ideal.”

The new date for Housing Day may give students a reason to be excited to return to campus, Ihejirika said.

“It gives you something to look forward to when you come back,” she said. “It’s not like ‘Oh yay, I have this community,’ then you immediately leave for a week.”

Some students worried that pushing back Housing Day could create new logistical challenges — either for House Committees, which would now be tasked with finalizing dorm-storming plans over spring break, or for freshmen, whose week off campus might be clouded by nerves over housing assignments.

Gonzalez-Lawand she thought the biggest factor behind some students’ frustration was the decision to upend more than a decade of tradition.

“I think the feelings around it have more to do with the break of tradition, and not with the vibe that it’s going to make or break anybody’s experience,” she said.

Martinez noted that the date change was the second major shift to Housing Day traditions that Harvard seniors have experienced. Through spring 2023, Harvard locked the River Houses to freshmen to discourage them from participating in River Run — resulting in a night of hijinks as freshmen hopped fences and evaded security guards. But in spring 2024, the College decided to leave House doors open, ushering in a lower-key River Run.

“Making another adjustment to Housing Day is kind of frustrating,” Martinez said. “I can’t really share my Housing Day experience with first-years the same way that they’ll experience their Housing Day.”

Still, Gonzalez-Lawand said, the heart of the day — giving freshmen a boisterous welcome to their new homes — will remain.

“Do I think this is going to change Harvard’s community? Absolutely not,” she said. “I just think that for people who have been here, it’s going to feel different.”