Word: hurlbut
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...imagine there's a prefrosh anywhere who dreams about living in Greenough, Hurlbut or Pennypacker. Along with places like New Quincy and the Jordon Coops, these dorms have been relegated to a sort of Ivy League purgatory--they're bona fide, but some of their prestige got lost along the way. You'll never see a Union dorm on an admissions tour or in a promotional booklet. They represent the underside of a preppie heaven, where bedroom vistas incorporate the band headquarters, a cafeteria delivery zone and old rusty dumpsters...
...three years ago, I moved into my first year home, Hurlbut, with a considerable degree of uncertainty. My proctor, Lee, had led off his welcome letter by insisting that "it's not that bad," so I figured it probably was. A haven for older students and musicians, Hurlbut had a healthy supply of singles, but I had been placed in a "suite" for three overlooking an empty lot (now the Inn at Harvard) on Mass. Ave. and the Hong Kong. We piled all our books and desks into the common room and managed to stuff our clothing, clock radios...
...didn't stop with the lack of privacy. By college standards, Hurlbut was sort of a sleeper when it came to parties. There were a few--especially in the six-person suites on the opposite side of the building--but for the most part, things stayed pretty quiet. Lee couldn't have been happier; taking his advice, we agreed to leave the social scene to Pennypacker. it was a PG-rated kind of place...
...think Hurlbut, despite all its superficial flaws, was the key to the success. First, not living in a "party" atmosphere has decided advantages. I never had the discomfort of asking a rowdy neighbor to shut up at 3 a.m., and living three people to a room meant that I never had to listen to the squeaking bedsprings of a roommate in love. No beer puddles on the floor outside my bedroom, no vomit in the bathroom. I got really good grades that year...
...same time, it wasn't like living in a library. Hurlbut did have a preponderance of singles, but it also had "pods," hallwaysturned-common-rooms fully equipped with carpets and couches. There were ten of us living in the rooms around the pod on my floor, and we all got to know each other really well. Lee lived in one of the rooms around the pod on the floor below, so we became close with the guys who hung out there, too; we appropriated their pod as a sort of second common room...