On a snowy March morning two years ago, a flurry of bunny ear-clad shouting upperclassmen burst into my blocking group’s room in Grays Hall, singing the praise of “Lev House, Best House!: My response: “What’s Leverett again?” I mean, no one wants Leverett, but at least it’s not the Quad. Right?
Wrong. For too long, Leverett has been held to be a mid-range house. Within the quiet brick exterior of McKinlock and the hulking gray Leverett Towers lies a house teeming with the best Harvard life has to offer: massive singles, river views, and a sparkling white dining hall which puts all others to shame.
Lev is the largest house at Harvard (read: endless potential for new friends), but the staff make it feel like home. You can’t help but smile when Bonnie, our fearless defender of interhouse dining restrictions, takes your card with a quick joke and an inviting grin. As for our Faculty Deans, Briana and Irina, think elaborate Halloween costumes, organized walks along the river, and spreads of Open House charcuterie that put all others to shame.
But let’s be real: the most important part of any Harvard house is the housing, and on that front, Leverett is unbeatable. Whether you prefer a suite with a common room double the size of any other you’ve seen or a huge single with two walls of windows and a view of the Boston skyline, Leverett has something for everyone. U-style housing in the Towers means you can enjoy the privacy and comfort of a bedroom to yourself while never having to share an awkward hallway bathroom with more than three people. When you’re not in your room, you can meet your friends in F-Hutch for a game of air hockey, grind out a PSET in our library flooded in natural light, or catch a performance in the Leverett Library Theatre.
When a crowd of upperclassmen in sparkling green rabbit ears rush into your dorm on Housing Day morning, know that we can’t wait for you to join us in Lev House, Best House.
Image Credit: HPR / Tarun Timalsina