"There is a lot of Jordan bonding. And at least this year we're in the main building," Carbo says.

But house parties and activities help bring Jordan residents back into house life, committee members say.

The fall game of Assassin, in which over 100 residents participated, is a good way to meet fellow residents, students say. "Everyone who plays Assassin comes into contact with people they normally wouldn't come into contact with," Agboola O. Fatiregun '93 says.

"People see each other around and say, 'Hey, didn't I kill you last fall!" Chung says.

Another popular house activity is Thursday fest, a party thrown by a different group of seniors each week, says Fatiregun.

Other house activities include game shows like the Dating Game, an all-night. Film-a-thon, NoHo Olympics, and the annual Halloween party.

Parties in North House encourage unity rather than separate cliques, residents say. "When we throw parties, we get everyone in the house going to one party," Chung says. "We have one main party, not three parties at the same time. People who want to throw parties work around each other."

But thesis pressures have led to a recent slacking-off in parties, according to Last and Chung.

Since they go to parties at the river while at the same time enjoying their own parties, North residents say they have the best of both worlds.

"The peaceful, beautiful Quad setting combines the advantages of a small rural school with those of Harvard and Cambridge," Last says.

And the distance to classes isn't really as large as many student think, say North House students.

"I can't understand how rational Harvard students somehow think that the Quad is some distant and faraway land," Last says. "If you look at the facts, it's no farther from the Science Center than many of the river houses--and on snowy days, we have the shuttle bus.