"It's not necessarily better than any place else, but people make too big a deal out of it being a negative," she says. "I like this lifestyle."

Going the Distance

The Quad is far, but not as far as many River dwellers believe, according to Currier House resident Robert N. Lindsey '02.

"I don't think it's all that terribly isolated," he says.

Although many Quadlings say that their home is merely a 10-minute walk from Johnston Gate, they cite the shuttle service as an additional advantage.

"The shuttle is like door-to-door limo service," Pforzheimer resident Luke Y. Wang '00 says.

Graham admits that the distance is more of an inconvenience for athletes whose practice times force them to be across the River at hours when the shuttle does not run.

"After dark and before dark it's a long haul," he says.

But for science concentrators, Graham says the Quad's location might even be an advantage, considering that the shuttle stops directly outside the Science Center.

"For people in science, [the Quad] is closer door-to-door than Mather or Dunster," he says.

Jennings says that as a result of the shuttle, she does much less walking but yet is more mobile than when she lived by the River.

"I don't have to shiver as much in the winter," she says. "I feel like I get around more now because of the shuttle. I'm not forced to not go somewhere because I don't feel like walking."

Reach Out and Touch Someone

One of the most common fears students have about living in the Quad is that they will be disconnected from life and friends down at the River.

To some extent, this concern is valid, Wang says.

"I couldn't even remember where Lowell House was a couple weeks ago," he says.

And because those living down at the River think the Quad is so far away, they are hesitant to visit, says Tad A. Fallows '02, who will be transferring from Cabot House to Quincy House next year.