{shortcode-72aa1abc37e535e0ddff77e2eb8525a650f3f05b}
With just two weeks of classes remaining for the Class of 2025, seniors dubbed the Class Committee’s year of programming “lackluster,” primarily citing low buy-in from the class.
The Class Committee — comprised of 17 student marshals who were elected by their peers in September — is responsible for organizing class-wide events, Senior Week activities, Class Day, and the Senior Gift Fund. After graduation, the Class Committee is also charged with planning alumni events.
Since September, the Class Committee has organized 22 events, including Senior Class Brunch, karaoke, a day of gratitude, Dinner with the Deans, and various parties. But despite the consistent programming, the committee has struggled to draw seniors to the events.
Nick D. Apostolicas ’25 said that “participation from our class has been rather low, which has made some of the events a little bit more lackluster than they should be.”
Apostolicas added that he did not blame the Class Committee for the low attendance, but said that his peers needed to “come together and celebrate these moments together.”
“I’m mostly satisfied with the events that they put together, but dissatisfied with the sense of spirit from our own class,” he said.
Luke Richey ’25 attended several of the parties organized by the Class Committee, which he said were “pretty, pretty bad” due to a lack of attendance.
“It’s only fun if other people are there,” Richey said.
Uzma A. Issa ’25, First Marshall of the Class of 2025, wrote that she is “proud” of the committee’s work throughout the semester. But she acknowledged that increasing student turnout has been a struggle.
“We acknowledge the challenge of facilitating and communicating events that reach a student body as diverse and busy as Harvard’s,” Issa wrote. “We always welcome feedback on how we could better meet the needs of our class, and we encourage seniors to reach out with any and all feedback, ideas, and concerns.”
Several students, like Jorge García ’25, cited schoolwork throughout the year as a barrier to attending Class Committee events.
“I don’t think I’ve been to a single one of them, but just because of work and finishing my homework,” García said.
Despite the low turnout, Arjun S. Purohit ’25 still enjoyed the events he attended and appreciates the Class Committee’s organizing efforts.
“Maybe turnout hasn’t been as high as we would hope, but I think they’re doing their best, and I can clearly see the effort pay off,” Purohit said.
With the semester wrapping up, Purohit is looking forward to more seniors engaging with the Class Committee events.
“I’m hoping that now that people are done, for example, with their theses, there’ll be more buy-in on the part of seniors,” Purohit said.
Thea J. Tjolle ’25 said she attended “almost all of the events so far,” adding that she enjoyed “reconnecting with people that I’ve met from freshman year.”
“I definitely think I’m making a conscious effort to go, because I think it’s really important to build community amongst the class,” Tjolle said.
Some activities — like breakfast in Annenberg, a beginning-of-the-year kickoff at Game On, and Saturday’s bouquet-making event — generated a greater sense of excitement among seniors.
Ciana J. King ’25 said that she noticed her classmates were “really excited” to make free bouquets.
“It was beautiful. It seemed to lift up spirits,” she said.
Still, King said that she felt “neutral” overall about the Class Committee’s programming.
“I don’t know that I am super satisfied, but I don’t think that I’m dissatisfied,” she said. “I don’t know that I had super high expectations because I know there’s certain limitations as to what they can do.”
Ava K. Pallota ’25 also said that she “didn’t know they did anything before Senior Week.”
“So I guess they’ve exceeded my expectations, in that sense, because I think they have been working really hard to host things all year, which isn’t something I necessarily expected of them,” she said.
Despite lukewarm attitudes toward the committee’s programming so far, seniors said they were excited for Senior Week — the week between finals and commencement which is packed with senior-only activities. The committee is planning an outdoor reflection trip, a beach day, and a night at the Boston club Royale.
“I’m really excited,” King said. “I think that will be when everyone’s done with finals or can at least calm down a little bit.”
—Staff writer Hiral M. Chavre can be reached at hiral.chavre@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @h_chavre.
—Staff writer Darcy G Lin can be reached at darcy.lin@thecrimson.com.
