Coming to college — especially to a place like Harvard — can be a difficult transition. The lectures are faster and the essays are longer. Many of us must learn how to live with roommates for the first time. Adjusting to HUDS is a feat of its own.
But there’s also that quintessential freshman feeling of not having a clue what everyone around you is talking about. Who’s getting punched, and are they okay? Who spelled “LGBTQ” wrong on this office door? What’s a “comp,” and why am I being yelled at to do it outside of Annenberg?
Strange acronyms litter our vocabulary. When speaking with family or friends back home, we spend an extra 10 minutes translating “Harvard speak” into regular terms while telling a simple story. So we set off to compile an (un)official Harvard dictionary for the uninitiated.
We were also determined to answer an age-old question: Why do Harvard…
