What’s happened to Harris?

The Harris Center, which opened in 1990, was designed to facilitate student activities. Contrary to its mission, though, current students reflected on low attendance at Harris events — outside of beloved annual themes like disco and Halloween — which contrast sharply with accounts of Harris popularity from alumni. 

Sasha Grigorovich `20 and Gracie Brandsgard `14, both employees of the Center for Careers, Life, and Service, present vastly different pictures of Harris events. Grigorovich said that he would never plan to attend a Harris all the way through. “It was more to kind of like run into friends like, ‘Okay, let’s all meet up at the Harris and then go do something else,’” he said.

However, Brandsgard said that during her time at Grinnell, attending a Harris was a mainstay of every weekend and that nothing else was scheduled at the same time. “It was actually really cool because you got to see a lot of people you normally don’t hang out with socially. Everyone was at Harris,” Brandsgard said. 

Sarah Burnell `14, cross country coach, said, “I think, in general, it was just fun to dance. And dance with like a group of friends, and get to hang out.” Burnell said that while she does not remember anything crazy happening at Harris events in her time at Grinnell, they were times of heightened socialization. She said, “Someone who maybe had a crush on someone else on campus finally had a chance to bump into them at a Harris party, or things like that.”

Current students agreed that their peers do not attend Harris events as consistently or as often. Renz Iurino `27 said, “I think there are a lot of events throughout the year that are attended a lot less. And then there are big ones, like Halloween, disco and maybe one other that everyone flocks to.” 

Some view the student mentality surrounding alcohol and general fun at Harris as a hindrance to people going. Melanie Oden `25 says, “There’s a phenomenon of, like, people need to get drunk as possible to have fun at Harris, right? Like, therefore we’re overcompensating. And so why aren’t Harrises fun in the first place?” 

Additionally, other students said they enjoy Harris events that are not all-campus parties. Caitlin Ong `26 said, “The drag show is always great, and Tithead.” 

While annual and semesterly events like Tithead, drag shows and certain Harris themes draw big crowds, many other Harris events are lacking in attendance. Ethan Versh `27 said, “It’s a lot to ask a student org to run a whole Harris. You’re really putting yourself out there. I think it’s more intimidating, the less successful they are.” 

Changes in event structure and expectations may constitute another reason for this shift, according to some alumni. Brandsgard said that although alcohol was served at Harris events throughout her time as a student, the College began to prioritize alcohol safety and reducing access on campus around 2013-2014.

Brandsgard cited a change in terms of where concerns over event safety came from; at the start of her time at Grinnell, the onus was on the student community and self-governance to create a safe environment. Eventually, however, ensuring event safety became more of an administrative role. “There was definitely a shift in conversation toward the end of my time, but I think more of those policies were implemented after I left,” she said.

Grigorovich and Brandsgard both said that many generations of Grinnellians believe that things got worse over their time at Grinnell, and Grigorovich cited a sense of nostalgia. “From where I’m sitting now, it’s hard to say exactly if that was true or not,” he said.

Students and alumni both noted that disco Harris, historically hosted by the men’s soccer team and now hosted in tandem with Freesound, is a Harris that tends to have high levels of attendance. 

Jeff Kolmer `24, a former member of the men’s soccer team, attributed the event’s regularity to its popularity. “Everyone knows disco Harris is typically that first Saturday after spring break,” he said.

Kolmer also said that he thinks advertising the events presents a struggle for many groups looking to host a Harris. He said, “From what I can remember, I think there have been a lot of great Harris ideas. I think the reason maybe they didn’t have a slightly better attendance might have just been some challenges promoting the event.” He added that the soccer team tries to start promoting two to three weeks ahead of the event. Additionally, since disco Harris has been hosted by two prominent groups on campus, the men’s soccer team and, in recent years, Freesound, that likely plays a role in the event’s popularity. 

“Hosting a Harris is pretty intimidating if you don’t have a group of people that walk you through it,” Kolmer said. He described the process, as did members of Grinnell College Birding Club, stating that you have to reserve the venue far in advance and have several meetings with upper level event staff and Ben Newhouse, associate vice president of student affairs and dean of students, if there are specific safety concerns for the event.

Kolmer stated that fundraising for Harris events has become more difficult. He said that he thinks the largest budget cuts took place over the 2022-2023 academic year. Additionally, Brandsgard said that fundraising was a bigger deal in the past. “People used to go dorm-to-dorm fundraising for Harrises,” she said.

Another factor contributing to the diminishing popularity of Harrises, or perhaps a byproduct of it, is the increase in popularity of Gardner events. Members of the Grinnell College Birding Club, which has hosted both a Harris and two Gardeners since its inception in 2023, said that the process for hosting an event in Gardner lounge, located in the basement of Main Hall, is easier. Grace Cuddihy `26, president of Birding Club, said that fewer sober volunteers are required to monitor the event and that there are fewer restrictions in general.

Additionally, Gardner is a smaller space, which makes filling it much easier. “I mean I think as an organization, it’s easier to feel like your event was successful,” said Valery Mayorga Garcia `26, social coordinator of Birding Club.

Student attendees feel similarly, Versh said, “[Gardener] just seems like a more reasonable sized venue for the amount of people who show up … Everytime I go to the Harris Center it’s just a little empty, like underwhelming.” 

Grigorovich also spoke to the popularity of Gardner events in his time at Grinnell. “I think people like Gardners more, because it felt kind of closer to home, maybe a little more DIY,” he said.

However, some students believe that things are looking up. From the hosting side, Cuddihy said that she believes people have figured out the method of hosting a Harris and are more willing to do it.

“And I do think also there were a lot of times my first year when I would go to Gardners or Harrises, and it would only be first years. And I think now, like people have really sort of rallied around events,” Cuddihy said.

Students expressed a desire to see more people show up not only to support the students who plan the events and play at the events, but to heighten the fun. Versh said, “We can make disco Harris every weekend if that was our mentality.”