First-Years Clamor for a capella

What was planned as a melodious welcome for first-year students turned into a cacophonous near-riot Wednesday night, as hundreds of students denied entrance into the annual a capella jam in Sanders Theatre prowled restlessly around Memorial Hall, simmering with discontent.

"They were about ready to lynch my co-director and me," said Crimson Key Society member Courtney L. Kubacki '92, who helped organize the event. "You could hear murmurings of 'bureaucracies,' and obscenities."

Kubacki said that even with the 1200-seat auditorium filled to capacity, at least 250 students--most of them first-years--were left waiting in line, clamoring for entrance.

She said she was in danger of being "completely trampled."

"People were yelling 'Where's Ginger? Where's Ginger?' and 'Give me a capella or give me death,'" said Adam L. Berger '95, who said he "couldn't believe" the scene he had witnessed.

"The line was moving and then it stopped," Berger said. "They literally closed the door."

Inside, the eight musical ensembles caroled on, oblivious to the drama occurring only yards away.

Kubacki said that although Crimson Key members were stationed at the door to check IDs and admit only first-year students, "there's nothing we can do when we're trampled by 200 people who don't care and just want to get in."

"Every year, unfortunately, upperclassmen sneak in," Kubacki said. "The popularity of the Glee Club is now being held against us."

Bret P. Nelson '95, who may have been the last student admitted, said he could barely hear the songs from his position behind several hundred other students.

"There must have been people hanging from the rafters trying to get in," Nelson said.

"Oh, I didn't know about that," Oliver P. Weisberg '95 said of the ruckus. Weisberg, who arrived on time and was seated uneventfully, especially lauded The Opportunes for their "ability to combine music and movement."

'A Vibrant Environment'

"The crowd really got into all the songs, people were screaming and yelling, it was a very vibrant environment," Weisberg said.

Harvard Chief of Police Paul E. Johnson said yesterday that he had not been informed of the disturbance.