{shortcode-ce1b7eb018395446c3ceaf0dca6e2f46a830aa9c}

One thing you will quickly realize about Harvard: very few conversations are what you would consider… normal. That is to say, many of the conversations have a subtext of evaluation without being overtly evaluative. Or, sometimes they are. You’ll see what I mean. So, a fun game to play in Berg is: Guess! That! Convo!

First Date vs. Club Interview

Both include weirdly invasive questions to evaluate a potential match. Both should absolutely not be happening in Annenberg. Potential questions include, “where are you from,” “where do you see yourself in ten years,” and, “what did you do in high school?”

Meeting with PAF vs. “We Should Grab Lunch Sometime”

One person is vastly more interested than the other. And yet, somehow, they’re both just pretending to care? One of the people will say things like, “Wow, it’s been so long since we last talked! We need to do this more often!” And the other will pointedly not agree.

Went to the Same High School vs. Ex of Ex

There’s a shared trauma running deep below the surface that the mere eavesdropper can only imagine. But there’s also a shared feeling of being better than everyone else. They mention a café with a knowing grimace — but is it a popular Stuy haunt or a shared break-up locale?

P-set Group vs. Polycule

They’re all over each other, and never seen apart. They know each other’s bedtimes and coffee orders. Sweatshirt ownership is just a suggestion. Okay, one of these options is more likely. But the other is way more interesting. And who’s to say one can’t lead to the other…

Bonus (and this one I guarantee you will experience): are they flirting, or are they trying to get me to check my voter registration and request a mail-in ballot?

Have fun both playing this game and getting into these quintessential Harvard situations yourself! But if you’re on a Berg first date, come on. Surely you could at least spring for BoardPlus.