"It is kind of intimidating for freshmen to walk into [the Crimson newsroom]," Gluck said. "I mean, maybe you had a small office in high school, maybe. It's a big step up and the doughnuts made it very homey."

At WHRB, compers went hungry. The staff spoke for 40 minutes instead.

"You'll find we're quite old-fashioned," Barylski said. "We just make our pitch."

That might help explain why the radio station had the lowest attendance of the four. Few aspects of the open houses were more popular than food.

"I didn't know they were having pizza but I came anyway," said Ramon A. Rasco '98, a visitor to the IOP. "I'm definitely happy now though."

'Clueless'

Organization leaders said open house attendance differs from year to year. But without exception, the excitement dissipates quickly.

"Freshmen are basically clueless," said Ahmad I. Atwan '96, head of the fellows program at the IOP. "So they have to hit as many open houses as possible. By the time they realize that classes take up all their time, the commitment wears off."