`Mather Madness' Strikes Residents, Area Children

Mather House residents don't often get the chance to see their tutors running around the courtyard covered with whipped cream.

But that's exactly what Mather Tutor David M. Porter was doing yesterday as part of "Mather Mayhem," a carnival designed to increase interaction between Cambridge school children and Harvard students.

The festivities, complete with a caricature artist, a fortune teller, a musician, an improvisational comedy performance, a dunking booth and a pie-throwing contest, featured as the guests of honor about 30 students ranging from five to 14 years in age from the Martin Luther King School in Cambridge.

"One of the most pleasing things [about the carnival] is that everyone is interacting and having a good time with the kids," said David E. Rogers '88, a Mather House tutor. "It's important because it will foster good relations with the community."

Mather Hand, a community service organization in the house, organized and coordinated the carnival along with the Mather House Council, Porter said. The group participates in community service projects such as one-on-one tutoring and a Big Sibling program.

Rogers said one of the carnival's main goals is to allow the children to interact with Harvard students.

"Many of the children have a less-than-optimal image of Harvard, and that translates into a less-than-optimal image of higher education," he said. He said he hopes the carnival helped to combat that negative perception.

If anything, Harvard undergraduates--including current Mather residents as well as first-years who will join the house next year--had even more fun yesterday than the children from the King School.

Mather residents darted from booth to booth with painted faces and battle scars from the pie-throwing stand. And the older students tended to completely dominate some events, like the Moonwalk, an inflated air tunnel.

The King school children, for their part, mostly stuck to the miniature golf and the quieter booths, like face-painting and fortune-telling.

One brave youngster who threw a ball accurately enough to dunk a Mather resident into a tank of water, simply smirked matter-of-factly and strolled on to the next booth.

"Mather Mayhem" was the culmination of a weekend of events designed to "bring the house together," said Mather House Master Jeff G. Williamson, who is also Laird Bell Professor of Economics.

On Saturday, Mather residents enjoyed a German cabaret, a special dinner and a party. The carnival, rained out on Saturday and rescheduled for yesterday, was the only event attended by children from the Mather Hand program.

This weekend's "Mather Mayhem" marks the first such event at Mather House, but Williamson said it will become an annual activity.

Rogers agreed, saying, "It's important for undergrads to get exposure to the School....[The carnival] helps to form community partnership."