HUPD on Patrol

This is not your parents' Yale Weekend. It's not even your older brother's Yale Weekend.

Gone are the days of campus-wide keg parties and rampant intercollegiate revelry, which have been replaced by smaller, restricted and more tightly controlled weekend parties.

Harvard students still have big plans for before and after The Game. Parties will be numerous, if restricted by the house-imposed guest lists.

Before the game is tailgate party time. Besides the traditional alumni tailgates, the Undergraduate Council will hold its biannual Tailgate Party, featuring live music from The Press.

The Council will also provide barbecued lunch cuisine for those Harvard students who signed up in their dining halls.

Yalies don't get any.

"We are going to show those Yalies how to party," said junior Benjamin Unger, the Council organizer of the event.

After the game (the Harvard victory, that is), the post-game parties will take over where the tailgate parties leave off.

The Asian-American Association will host the only campus-wide party: "The Twilight Zone" in Memorial Hall, featuring DJ's and live music from Shiuan Liu '95 and The Latin Boys.

Without campus-wide attractions, the social focus has shifted to smaller house and private parties.

More than 50 of these events have requested Harvard University Police Deparment (HUPD) officers to maintain order.

"The requests are still coming in," HUPD Lt. Charles Schwab said. "No one wants to risk disruption by the Yalies who will straggle after the game."

In fact, the HUPD will be omnipresent throughout the day in strength.

"An extra detail will be given to the stadium to guard against pranks," Schwab said. "Another will be in the Yard to make sure no one paints John Harvard blue...Yale blue."

"We just have to get ready for the onslaught of people," Associate Director of Athletic Operations Lauren M. DiStefano said. "Preparation for larger numbers and tight organization are key."

While the HUPD and the athletic administration are making special efforts, no restrictions are being placed on housing--unlike the measures imposed on students during Head of the Charles weekend.

"We haven't taken any special precautions [as far as guest restrictions are concerned]," said Archie C. Epps III, Dean of Students.

The more Yalies, the merrier--the more that come, the more that go home wishing they didn't have to settle for a Yale sheepskin after they've seen Harvard handle the pigskin.

However, despite extensive preparation and guarantees of good times being tossed around everywhere, some wonder whether the blood, sweat and tears are truly worth the trouble.

"The spirit is just not what it should be," a disgruntled band member and peddler of "I Hate Yale" T-shirts said as he stood behind the counter in the Union. "I wish people would get more into this."