Mather House (Harvard College)
Mather House is one of the undergraduate residential houses at Harvard University. Built in 1971, its house masters are Sandra Nadaff and Leigh Hafrey. Mather is known for large single rooms and common rooms, and its nineteen-story concrete tower built in an austere style jokingly called 'neo-penal'. Its blocky concrete architecture reflects the anti-uprising style of the day of its construction, and makes it the butt of jokes such as being known as "the box that Dunster came in." The residence guarantees single bedrooms to all inhabitants for their three years there. The low-rise which surrounds the courtyard has large common rooms while the nineteen story high rise does not.
The high rise makes up for this absence of common space by offering larger bedrooms and views of Boston and Cambridge that are among the best in the entire city. Mather is the Harvard house farthest from Harvard Yard to the South East, though the school provides shuttle service from its courtyard every ten minutes during the schoolday. Mather House was a favorite choice for hard partying varsity athletes before housing assignments were randomized by the school. The concrete walls remain kegproof and the house is still a popular party spot on the weekends thanks to the understanding authority figures (House Masters and security guards) and the beer-providing Louie's convenience store across the street.
The house is known among students for its lively social life and great House Council, frequent and fun Happy Hours, and a spacious, newly-remodeled dining hall with a view of the Charles River.
Social Life and the Lather
A plenitude of common space and an active House Council have made Mather a hub of Harvard undergraduate social life. In addition to biweekly Happy Hours, the House hosts several popular events such as the annual Date Auction and biannual Mather formals. Most prominent among Mather social gatherings is the Mather Lather, a College-wide foam party that takes place every spring. Since its first run in 2003, the Lather has grown in scope and fame, earning the attention of the Boston media and drawing students from all parts of the Harvard campus to a massive sudsy dining hall filled with swimsuit wearing party-goers.
The Louie Cup is a year-long olympiad of games taken seriously by the house community. Generally, an event is held every week in which one or two or more representatives of each team (comprising a group of 4-6, usually roommates) competes. Highlights include the pancake-eating contest, foosball, dining hall Iron Chef, and hot pepper-eating; and other less-followed events include wiffle ball home run derby, ping pong, Wii sports, dodgeball, and boggle. The most legendary performance occurred in the 2006 pancake-eating contest, with Cesar N. Rodriguez devouring 15 in under 10 minutes. The events are open to the campus, but tend to take place in Mather. The olympiad is named after Louie's Superette, the perennial beer-provider for Mather House, and a large quantity of alcohol is awarded to the winning team at the end of the spring semester.
The house's well-known rivalry with Kirkland House has sparked heated exchanges of practical jokes and pranks, especially facilitated by the Mather House Council. While Mather is generally seen as the instigator and aggressor, the rivalry began when half of a Mather blocking group succeeded in transferring interhouse to Kirkland House. (See [1])
Mather won the Harvard Green Campus Initiative Green Cup in 2006.
Mather House at the University of Chicago
There also exists a Mather House affiliated with the University of Chicago, which is located at 5243 South Kenwood Avenue. The highly selective House was recently founded and thus may be linked to or influenced by Mather House at Harvard. Although short in its history, UChicago's Mather has hosted influential artists such as the elusive Jeff Mangum, and continues to be a positive force in the Hyde Park community.
Notable Alumni
- Michael Kinsley
- Conan O'Brien
- Peter Olson (Random House CEO)
- Kenneth Reeves (Mayor of Cambridge, MA)
- Cornel West
- Jeffrey Zucker