Housing Day is almost upon us, and as a freshman, the anticipation is building more every day, feeding off of the energy from the others in the Berg conversing about blocking groups, the friendly shuttle schedule, and how much someone hates linoleum floors. I feel like Charlie in the Disney movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”; I’m just lucky to be here (at Harvard), so I have no preconceived notions or biases towards upperclass housing. It would be nice to get #quadded for the space and the aesthetic, but getting into a river house means more late night Insomnia runs with my blockmates. Whichever way the cookie crumbles, I just can’t wait to have a dining hall that I can get to without having to walk 7-10 minutes in the snow. That being said, have a look at what I consider are my favorite Housing Day videos on YouTube that each of the houses puts up when the time comes from the perspective of an unbiased freshman:
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Cabot’s 2015 Housing Day Video: Part of the Quad
Am I the only one that’s a sucker for the Little Mermaid? This is probably, in my opinion, the cutest and nicest Housing Day video of them out there. It targets the Disney lover inside all of us and brings on a bout of nostalgia listening to the melody.
Lowell’s 2013 Housing Day Video: Get Lowell
“Get Lowell” is a classic that I’ve heard about since the beginning of Housing Day chatter began. The video quality alone earns it an A+ in my book without grade inflation and I’ve never met Harvard kids so hip-hop inclined. Props to you, Lowell tea drinkers, for setting the bar way up high for every subsequent video in the coming years.
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Winthrop’s 2014 Housing Day Video: Love on Throp
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Am I biased towards Beyonce? Nooo….
But I am a fan of completely choreographed/all-in-one-take shots. I can’t even imagine the amount of work that went into putting on a streamlined performance like this one. And the lion king bit at the end?! Winthrop, you’re killing it with this video.
Pfoho’s 2014 Housing Day Video: Pfrozen
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Another Disney themed video, this time Frozen was the inspiration. Can you sense a trend in my tastes?
There were two Frozen based videos in 2014, and while Quincy’s was great and teeming with penguins in the snow, Pfoho’s is my pick of the two. The ending just brought about a sense of community that I’d love to be a part of as an upperclassman. Too cute, Pfoho, too cute.
Dunster’s 2015 Housing Day Video: Blank Space
In their Housing Day video from last year, Dunster shows impressive use of their house while it was being remodeled, promising a beautiful new house for the freshman, and boy did they deliver. Dunster is hands down one of the most gorgeous upper class houses at Harvard and this girl’s theatrical impression of T-Swift deserves a round of applause.
I’m excited to see what videos the houses come up with for 2016’s Housing Day. They have a lot to live up to, but Harvard’s been known to be a world leader in innovation and progress. Will this expectation carry over into each house’s creative project?