Weekly Column: Swat Says

April 3, 2025
Photo Courtesy of James Shelton

Since the housing agreement was due this week, have you been thinking about your plans for and thoughts about housing next semester?

Yeyoon Song ’27: I don’t really have a plan, all I want is just a single. As long as it’s a single anywhere, I’m fine.

Abigail Peters ’26: So I’m an upcoming senior. I have a single this year and will definitely have one next year, so I’m looking forward to continuing to have my own space where I can get away from everything. I know a lot of people who are figuring out where to live based on where their friends are. There are a lot of shenanigans going on, but luckily I’m not involved. 

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Aidan Tinker ’28: I’m pretty locked in on my plans right now. I’m actually gonna be living in an apartment behind NPPR with a women’s lax player. I’m excited to leave the slums of Willets basement where I am now. 

Ryan Bollimpalli ’27: I’m gonna be abroad next year at the London School of Economics, and every dorm has, like, a gimmick or theme which should be fun. So we’ll see what I get. 

Happy Hadia Ingabire ’26: I’m a rising senior so I expect to have a single. I have a dingle right now and have a huge room so I definitely want one next year too. 

Sofia Perez Barrios ’26: They f*cked me up so much in the past that I’m worried. I got ML as a sophomore and had a really bad time for housing registration as a junior, so I’m scared. I want a nice single, but the bar is really low. 

Munkhzul Batmyagmar ’28: I live in DK, so I really wanna live there again in my sophomore year. It’s just really nice and it’s clean at least.

Alex Wuttig ’26: I do have a bit of sage advice for juniors and sophomores who get placed into ML: if you go through the second room selection a couple weeks into the semester, you might be able to get into a better room. It’s not over till the second room selection … then it’s over.

Alyssa Wheeler ’26: I don’t really have any stakes in the housing thing because I’m gonna be a senior. I do definitely wanna live up the hill. I don’t understand people who want to live down the hill. 

What are your thoughts on dating apps and have you ever used them yourself?

Yeyoon Song ’27: No, I have never used them, and I don’t think I’ll ever use them. I feel like it’s a bit weird to use them in college especially, but I feel like if it gets to the point when you’re in your late twenties or early thirties, I wouldn’t judge or think it’s weird. But I think it’s a little weird now.

Abigail Peters ’26: I have never used dating apps. I have a couple friends on dating apps though and I like playing Hinge and swiping on their phones. It’s fun. And apparently they’ve had some success. 

Aidan Tinker ’28: I currently have one downloaded that I haven’t used for six months. I don’t like that there’s a preconceived idea that there’s a romantic thing going on.

Ryan Bollimpalli ’27: Yes I have used them. I think in general most people aren’t gonna find who they’re looking for, but I think it’s a good way to meet people sometimes. 

Happy Hadia Ingabire ’26: I don’t think I need to or have to or will ever use one. Personally it’s a risk that I can’t take in this dangerous worlds but I don’t have anything against people who do.

Sofia Perez Barrios ’26: I’ve used dating apps. I know a lot of people who use them, and I think they’re fun. I don’t expect too much from them. And you need to be ready to run into some strange people. 

Munkhzul Batmyagmar ’28: Ok, so I’ve never used those kind of apps, but I have a friend from high school who does and pretends to not be in high school to go on dates with guys who are much older than her.

Alex Wuttig ’26: Last night, we did a group scroll on someone’s Tinder. So it’s a good social activity but not much more. 

Alyssa Wheeler ’26: Dating apps can be a really fun way to branch out from the Swat dating pool. My piece of advice as a lesbian on a dating app: stop trying to be like a best friend and endlessly compliment each other. You’re supposed to be in a relationship, not just besties. They’ll know what I’m talking about.

What is the most memorable April Fool’s prank you have ever heard of, witnessed, or been a part of?

Yeyoon Song ’27: I think maybe in high school when I was on the swim team and our best swimmer said he tore his ACL. We all thought he was being serious, including the coach, so that was probably the prank that got me the most. 

Ryan Bollimpalli ’27: My senior year of high school, someone took all the backpacks and put them on a raft, and the raft sunk. They didn’t get mine, luckily, but that’s like 100,000 worth of laptops down the drain. 

Abigail Peters ’26: I can’t say I’ve really seen any pranks before coming here but, as an engineering major I’ve participated in three now. I was really happy with the table we made last year. The structural capacity of that table just made me very happy.

Aidan Tinker ’28: I always remember the MIT one where they took apart a cop car and reassembled it on the roof. 

Sofia Perez Barrios ’26: I like the Engineering pranks. Also last year the frisbee team pretended that there was a practice when it was completely dark at 9pm. Luckily, I knew but a lot of people didn’t. 

Munkhzul Batmyagmar ’28: There are a few times I’ve lied to my friends or tried to prank them but it didn’t go over very well. 

Alex Wuttig ’26: I’ve heard of people saran wrapping schools which is pretty wild. Not too environmentally sound though. But if someone were to saran wrap all of Sci I would not be opposed. Also, someone once brought a cow to Parrish and that needs to be brought back. 

Alyssa Wheeler ’26: I remember hearing a story of an MIT student who trained the birds to flock to the field every time a whistle was blown and, during the first game of the season when MIT was playing Harvard, a bunch of birds flew onto the field at the first whistle. 

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