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Quirks and Perks

The rumors are true: Currier revolves around good food. The debate over the best Harvard House may never truly be resolved, but the closest we’ll get is the general consensus that Currier spotlights HUDS at its full potential. Besides the atmosphere and layout of the d-hall, both extremely conducive to fostering and deepening community, Currier is home to the one and only: Food Drops. Every Sunday evening, Currier’s HoCo orders a ton of food. Sometimes the orders are without rhyme or reason, like huge orders from McDonald’s or Dominoes. But sometimes, it’s to a theme, like Nigerian food or Super Bowl themed food. Think, the ultimate brain break to chase away the Sunday Scaries and be at peak dietary fulfillment!

On top of its amazing food, Currier is the proud host of many go-to events such as the yearly Halloween party “Heaven and Hell” and Currioke, which as the name suggests, is Currier’s karaoke night where residents can put the songs that they’ve only practiced in the shower to good use in the back of the Fishbowl. The fun doesn’t stop here, though, since Currier also throws a variety of “steins” or events during the year such as the Easter Stein that Currier’s HoCo Chairs Sam R. Vitale ’25 and Necati O. Unsal ’26 called “crazy competitive,” as well as a party for Currier’s beloved security guard Bill who works the 4 PM to 12 AM shift and sees everyone come back home <3.

We can already assume that Currier is the birthplace of power, being pretty much the most feminist House of them all. People including Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, Yo-Yo Ma, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and even Boston’s own Michelle Wu, among others, also once walked the same hallways and worked in the same spacious 165 square-foot rooms that only Currier offers.

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This seems to extend to the present too. “Look around you! Future famous alumni!” exclaimed Unsal, pointing to the many people seated around the d-hall, ranging from floaters to first-years, to actual Currier residents. And while Currier has these big names to broadcast and possesses this sense of power, it is evident that the true strength comes from the tightly knit community, found in the Quad, but more realistically, rooted in Currier, who also happens to be a leader of the so-called Quad-renaissance (iykyk).

Though not as well known as their steins or food drops, Currier has recently adopted the house tradition of rubber ducks being placed throughout the house. What started with tiny ducks being randomly scattered throughout the house soon evolved into something bigger - quite literally. “I remember walking into the d-hall my sophomore year, and there was a huge duck just in the fountain,” explains Vitale. The origins of this tradition remain unknown, yet it seems they have plans to expand this year, plans that seem to be sealed tightly under wraps as Vitale and Unsal soon fell to a hush and began giggling. Perhaps current and incoming Currier residents should expect to see some ducks in their future, and no, not the CS50 ones.

In reference to this Curri-ky tradition, Vitale posits, “Is it giving old money Harvard? Probably not. It’s giving home,” which as a Currierite, will come to mean more to you than anything else. And, as Unsal points out, cultivating a sense of home and belonging is “really what we want to create with the new generation.”

All About Housing

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Like the other two Quad houses, Currier is all about community, but not just because it’s a 17-minute walk (according to Google Maps) from your classes in the Science Center. Currier’s unique layout naturally lends itself to a “wholesome community,” as Currier resident and Crimson Flyby editor Katie E. Hennessey ’24 said.

With only one main entrance that is conveniently located directly across the street from the shuttle station and leads straight down to the dining hall and Fishbowl (a common room with a large projector screen that recently held a massive showing of the LVIII Super Bowl!), you are bound to run into your fellow Currierites 24/7. Even the layout of the dining hall with only one entrance and exit – and a glorious fountain in the middle with plants that create the dining space of any feng shui Pinterester’s dreams – make it a vibrant and welcoming place to spot friendly faces and strike up those unexpected “you just made my day” conversations.

However, on the slight chance that you don’t see a familiar face grabbing Oatly ice cream at 2 am or stationing themselves next to the d-hall’s fountain as background noise for their PSET grind, you can stop to admire your friends’ beautiful faces on wall monitors that rotate through a cycle of self-submitted photos. According to Hennessey, “[Currier] always asks us to submit pictures of ourselves or things you’ve done” for all residents to see what everyone has been up to, or even get a boost of serotonin from looking at a picture of someone’s cute dog before your 8:30 a.m. trek to the Yard for section.

Moving on from the Lower Main, there are elevators that lead to dorms in each of Currier’s four towers – Bingham, Daniels, Gilbert, and Tuchman – which also happen to be named after notable Radcliffe College alumnae (another day, another slay for women!). The dorms in these towers can be either two singles connected by a bathroom or a typical suite layout that can include a kitchen and even a balcony if you are fortunate enough to be placed into one of the fifth-floor penthouse suites. These special suites even have private access to their very own solarium, which Hennessey says she is lucky enough to have as a resident of one of the penthouses since it is “nice to also have a space that’s separate from your room where you can just come and hang out.”

However, if you do not get placed into one of the penthouses or the infamous “Ten Man” suite that houses ten people and contains a huge common room that is used for Currier parties, do not fret. Currier boasts a plethora of other rooms in which to hang out and spend time perfecting new hobbies. Whether that looks like whipping up a Gordon Ramsay-level meal in one of the 52 kitchens, learning Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” on the guitar in the music rooms, taking time to yourself in the meditation and prayer room, letting out your midterms stress by chucking paint onto a canvas in the art room, getting a quick workout in the in-house gym and dance studio (and saying hi to your AADT friends who often use the space for practices), or beating your friends in a not so friendly game of pool in the lounge area near the d-hall, you will never, ever be bored.

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Your Questions, Answered

Slowly becoming a Quad convert because of Currier? We get it. Still a little bit Currie(r)ous about what makes Currier the place to be? We also get it. But don’t worry, these questions truly capture its magic:

What’s your favorite Currier memory?

NOU: So many of them revolve around the d-hall. The fact that I can sit in one place and people that I’m friends with whether it’s directly through my blocking group or tangentially just having seen them in the hallway, we’ll all just sit at the same table.

SRV: Last year’s housing day, because as you guys may know, Currier had a very successful Housing Day video. Just walking to the Yard on Housing Day, we were stopping traffic in the road and it was so fun. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

NOU: Energy was crazy – electric, you could say.

If you had to compare your Faculty Dean to a certain superhero, which one would you choose and why?

NOU: I mean does she need to be compared to another one?

SRV: [She is] the embodiment of the word girlboss.

NOU: Girlboss energy. I don’t think other houses can say they have that. I think you can ask other superheroes instead how they embody her spirit.

Since much of Currier’s reputation revolves around its dining and food scene, it begs the question, what kitchen utensil would Currier be and why?

NOU: Tongs.

SRV: I was going to say spatula.

NOU: Tongs are for group scenarios, right? Like when you are in a group setting, or when you’re grilling? Spatula. Spork does embody the accessibility that we represent as a house.

SRV: Also ladle. A sense of community.

What is the “Quad Renaissance” we’re hearing rumors of?

NOU: People mentioned the Quad Renaissance last year. I think Currier is like the Florence or nexus of this movement.

If you’re lucky enough to be placed into Currier, make sure to learn its unofficial anthems: “Currier vs. the World” Housing Day Video 2023 and “Can’t Catch Me Now” by our teen angst queen Olivia Rodrigo. Come Housing Day, you will all be belting “QUAAAAAAAAAAD THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT” or “I’m in the trees, I’m in the breeze, my footsteps on the ground.”