Harry Potter Across the Ivy League
I’m not writing about Harry Potter just because it’s a national obsession: there are some very clear Ivy ties. For example, the Daily Princetonian reported back in January that Daniel Radcliffe was going to be Princeton ‘11. Wait, that was the joke issue? Honestly, I have a very straightforward motivation in promoting Harry Potter–it fosters in children an interest in witchcraft and the occult, and with that in mind, it helps me in my Hell-borne quest to subvert Christian morality and destroy the fabric of American society. Duh.
No, the real connection comes from the way students all over have a tendency to associate the ‘magic of Hogwarts’ with their own schools.
Yale has a particular obsession: when not complaining about Hermione being too attractive, the Yale Daily News passes the time debating which residential colleges are most like Gryffindor and whether Larry Summers is Voldemort incarnate. On Facebook, the story is no different. Yale has spawned “Yale is Hogwarts, Harvard is Azkaban,” and “I Chose Yale Because it is Like Hogwarts” –265 and 448 members at writing, respectively.
Harvard’s response? “Harvard is Hogwarts, Yale is Azkaban”… 4 members. Back in 2001 the Crimson observed that quite a few Harvard students found HP “very harvardish,” or that Hogwarts was “Harvard plus magic.” “The childish nature of the Harry Potter series appears to be a strong pull,” wrote G.M. Sheehan. The debate is since settled; Scholastic’s first reader (Arthur Levine, Brown ‘84) in charge of Harry Potter noted at a Master’s Tea that Yale was “the closest thing you can get to Hogwarts in the United States.” At least Harry and the Potters are playing in Harvard Hogwarts Square on opening night.
But don’t fight about which school is Hogwarts–don’t you see? No one school is, they all are! It’s magic.
Send tips, but not spoilers, to ivygate.guest@gmail.com. Fun campus Harry Potter stories are welcome!
–SAM JACKSON
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July 20th, 2007 at 8:43 am
How could you guys leave out the Harry Potter event/weekend they did at Penn?!? It was last weekend!
July 20th, 2007 at 10:39 am
The bell tower of Baker Library at Dartmouth frequently plays the song that introduces all of the Potter movies.
July 20th, 2007 at 11:54 am
ahhh THAT’S what that fucking song is
July 20th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
That photo is great.
July 20th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
about the farthest thing from Hogwarts. But I do love it when the bells play the theme.
July 20th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
kind of reminds me of Slytherin…
School color: Green
Known for: Investment Bankers, closet racists, Malfoy-type families
July 20th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
he dies!
July 20th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
the only ivy league school that doesn’t have closet racists is Brown. I think it’s a prerequisite to get past the name.
July 21st, 2007 at 2:19 am
No closet racists at Brown? Are you out of your mind? Clearly, you’ve clock reads 4:20 ALL the time.
Wake up and get a clue: the Ivy Leauge (and most schools) have tons of closet racists. If you’re a Bruin, you’re not doing your alma mater any favors.
July 21st, 2007 at 1:57 pm
no closet racists at brown? read the jolt for fucks sake
July 23rd, 2007 at 1:12 pm
why the hell is a pre-frosh writing for ivygate? he hasnt even started school yet– are you guys serious?
July 23rd, 2007 at 1:13 pm
why the hell is a pre-frosh writing for ivygate? he hasnt even started school yet– are you guys serious?
July 23rd, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Tower room at Dartmouth looks exactly like something out of Hogwarts…they even mention it on the tour.
And they frequently play the song? try every other fucking day.
July 24th, 2007 at 2:16 am
All that Gothic shit.
I don’t see how you people can stand it.
The schools most likely Hogwarts is Yale.
But if we break it down individually:
Princeton = Gryffindor. Proud, arrogant assholes obsessed with their history and nobility. Also too much sports.
Harvard = Slytherin. Snape could easily be Larry Summers. Hated, never a chance to redeem himself.
Yale = Ravenclaw. Much less showy than the other two, far more focused on academics.
Dartmouth, Georgetown, Brown, Chicago, Cornell, Penn, whatever = Hufflepuff. Sucks for you.
July 24th, 2007 at 7:06 am
California blows.
July 24th, 2007 at 8:19 am
Georgetown and chicago aren’t in the Ivy League.
And to say Princeton is Gryffindor is an affront to freedom-loving peoples everywhere.
hella norCal!
July 24th, 2007 at 9:36 am
Thank you for reminding me why I have infinitely more respect for Berkeley than Stanford. You don’t even know which schools are being discussed (UofC, Gtown = not Ivy; missed Columbia), and YOU have the sac to say Princeton has “too much sports”?
When the trade school that Stanford is stops giving athletic scholarships and selling itself like a cheap whore, THEN you might have the right to comment. But before that apocalyptic date, you’re not welcome — no matter how much you tell yourself Stanford is an Ivy League school.
July 24th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
emma watson (the chick that plays hermione) is actually gonna be middlebury ‘11. not ivy, but she was mentioned in the blog. shes not gonna be in the next two movies
July 24th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
not so:
from rotten tomatoes:
Earlier this week, we reported of possible trouble a-brewing over at Hogwarts: Emma Watson was considering not re-signing her “Harry Potter” contract, desiring to branch out for new roles. But WB has settled the matter, announcing via press release that Watson has signed on to complete the series with “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
July 24th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Hermione’s already in college? But they’re still only 15!!! Moviewise they still have two more years and have to take their N.E.W.T.S!
Well whatever, I’m sure Hermione’s getting to school early cuz of her fucking time turner, little overachieving hussy.
July 24th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Middlebury? Well, who will be the first Ivy student to give Hermione a magic wand? And teach her the difference between grundle and Grendel.
July 26th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
LOL
July 30th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
1st–Middlebury is better than 5 of the 8 ivy league colleges.
2nd–Hermione chose Middlebury because she wants big, liberal arts cock, not little 1 inch jew penn cock
July 30th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Middlebury better than 5 of the 8 Ivy League schools? Lol@you.
July 31st, 2007 at 10:40 am
Hogwarts is not like any Ivy League place. Hogwarts and Harry Potter have very little to do with the USA, in fact as far as I know there’s 0% mention of anything to do with the country, America is all cowboys & indians; bagels, “dating” and spending Sunday with some wacky puritan-esque Church (est. 1962) - not cynicism, magic, paganism, mateship and adventure. HP & Hogwarts are based in England and are about British (English/Scottish/Welsh) & Irish people, places and national folklore. Hogwarts is an English boarding school, a “high school” not a University so god know why anyone would think it’s like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Middlebury(?) or wherever else. It ain’t.
August 1st, 2007 at 4:13 am
okay you silly ivy league twats: NONE of your universities even remotely resemble hogwarts. DEAL with it you snerds. go to oxford or cambridge if you want potter-esque surrounds.
furthermore, emma watson (hermione) plans on attending cambriddge to study philosophy. google it. middlebury? HAH.
August 1st, 2007 at 11:22 am
the phrase “big liberal arts cock” was almost a bigger joke than part one of your statement
August 1st, 2007 at 11:49 am
I would agree with fermi only that Williams is better than half of the Ivy League
August 10th, 2007 at 7:20 am
Have you guys not seen the Annenburg looks like Harry Potter’s great hall facebook group?
plus, harvard was technically a british school for over a century
August 21st, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Ok. yale is not more academically focused than princeton or harvard in any way. i have no idea what their feeding down your throat but you seem sadly missinformed.
We’re not saying that these colleges are the spitting image of any house, just that they resemble them more than the others.
yale- Slytherin
Cornell- Hufflepuff
Princeton - Ravenclaw
Harvard Gryffindor
and thats only if you stick to ivy league
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:29 am
First off, this is a stupid argument, viz. the presence of brits being all aristocratic and superior in this thread. Hey guys? We won the war. All of them, in some cases for you. please go have some tea and something disgusting, like kidney pie.
as for yale=slytherin… you know, i’m not going to get into this gross little geekfest. please, guys, you’re embarassing us.
August 30th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
Middlebury has quidich, that’s why she’s going there
September 5th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Most of you are actually AT Ivy League schools, yes? So theoretically you’re all good students with top board scores, shedloads of extracurriculars, et cetera? If so, SHOW SOME MATURITY, and stop trying to re-fight WW2. As to the brits, yes, we KNOW that Hogwarts is a secondary school. We just like the high-gothic architecture. We dont have much of it.
September 5th, 2007 at 11:42 am
If the Oxbridge schools are so excellent, why are their students reading this blog? I’ll tell you why:
With endowments of only $4 billion each, alumni who could care less, declining influence (like the UK itself), and arrogance of “noblesse oblige” proportions, the Oxbridge schools are in precipitous decline.
I predict in 20 years, Oxford and Cambridge will be no more prestigious (and less rigorous) than the flagship schools of Australia, Korea, Finland, Germany, and China.
December 22nd, 2007 at 7:01 pm
I thought Harry Potter 5 was the best of all. It was awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 22nd, 2007 at 7:04 pm
I thought Harry Potter 5 was the best of all. It was awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 29th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
salam
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:49 am
I like you
January 31st, 2008 at 7:30 am
hello harry potter i m taulant and i like very much your movies because are very amazing movies with adventure with magic
….
February 19th, 2008 at 1:02 am
uvm is better than all of those schools, except middlebury cuz thats where Emma is going
February 19th, 2008 at 1:07 am
uvm is better than all of those schools, except middlebury cuz thats where Emma is going