Since creation of the House system by Harvard President Abbott Lawrence Lowell in the 1930s, the cultures and traditions of the residential Houses have been continually transformed by students and members of the Harvard community. During the school year, students engage in a range of activities such as staging a performance about race relations in the Adams House Pool Theater, collecting historical items to renovate the suite where President Franklin Roosevelt once lived, and dressing up for a Halloween drag night. The activities explore the intersection of contemporary life with sociopolitical issues.
In her writings about religious pluralism — which can be viewed in relation to House life — Lowell House Co-Master Diana Eck explained how religions have evolved based on how individuals practice them: “Our religious traditions are not boxes of goods passed intact from generation to generation, but rather rivers of faith — alive, dynamic, ever-changing, diverging, converging, drying up here, and watering new lands there.”
In that spirit, these photographs show the diverse streams of student experiences that revolve around the activities and traditions that define Harvard’s Houses.
Elyse Traverse ’11 (front) belts a ditty from “Grease” during Drag Night. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Who knew drag could be so regal? Under the austere art of Adams House, its resident men are dolled up like women. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Gender-bending for Adams House Drag Night, Elyse Traverse ’11 (left) gets a little hair help from Adams House tutor Sarah Downer. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Amid towers of pizza boxes, Adams House Masters Sean and Judith Palfrey enjoy the performances. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Sam Houston ’11 cleans up the chaos. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer The entrance to Adams House is framed by an ornate gateway. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Zachary Sifuentes (left), visiting lecturer on visual and environmental studies and resident tutor in poetry at Adams House, watches Kathryn Reed ’13 print a poem by Charles Baudelaire inside the Bow and Arrow Press at Adams House during Open Press Night. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Rebecca Cooper ’11 reserves these tiny letters for a project of her own. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Student press master Daniel Gross ’13 explores the historical presses inside Bow and Arrow Press. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer At Bow and Arrow Press, Adams House residents lay out a poem by Charles Baudelaire. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Zachary Sifuentes (center) holds Baudelaire’s words up in the air. Daniel Gross ’13 (left) and Matt Warner ’13 look on in admiration. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer This overview shows Adams House and the Boston skyline. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Inside the Adams House Pool Theater, Julienne Coleman ’11 (from left) and Lindsey Ross ’11 greet students before a performance of “The Exonerated” by BlackCAST, a Harvard student production group. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Anselm Beach ’11 performs in “The Exonerated.” Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Steven Maheshwary ’12 (foreground) and Eduardo Perez ’12 perform in “The Exonerated.” Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Renee Ragin ’10, co-director of BlackCAST, works on the set of “The Exonerated.” Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer View of a fountain spout in the Adams House Pool Theater. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer An upright piano and historical sheet music grace the restored Franklin D. Roosevelt Suite in Adams House. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer These antiques form an eclectic still life in the FDR Suite. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Above a historical photograph of Harvard Stadium, a deer head is dressed with a vintage Harvard sweater. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer George Zisiadis ’11 prepares to paint a mock chart showing the relationship between the “quality of your college experience and time spent looking at murals” in the tunnels. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Alma Ortiz mops the floors of the tunnels while Edward Gorey’s “Doubtful Guest” looks on. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Lidiya Petrova ’11 paints a blue unicorn inside the tunnels. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer Joe Poirier ’11 paints lyrics from a Bob Dylan song inside the Adams House tunnels. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer The Adams House tower creates a majestic skyline. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
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