'Game' To See Tighter Drinking Rules

Increased enforcement of alcohol restrictions at this year’s Harvard-Yale game will likely make it tougher than ever for students to imbibe at the traditional pre-game tailgates.

Students who wish to carry more than a six-pack of beer across the river will probably have to register their drinks and those wishing to enjoy beverages distributed at the tailgates may need to pass an ID check first, according to an e-mail sent Sunday evening by Undergraduate Council President Matthew W. Mahan ’05 to all House Committee (HoCo) chairs.

“At this point it appears that certain rules and laws regarding alcohol transportation and consumption may be more strictly enforced,” Mahan wrote.

After The Game in 2000, then-Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 imposed a ban on kegs at all future Harvard-Yale football games, a restriction upheld by a unanimous vote by House Masters for the last game held at Harvard Stadium, in 2002. University officials expanded the ban on kegs to all home athletic events on or near Harvard athletic complexes.

Mahan said that he is negotiating with College administrators to reverse the 2000 decision.

“Dean Gross has suggested to me that he may be open to lifting the keg ban,” Mahan said. “I think it’s possible that we can find a solution that would allow the deans to drop the keg ban as long as other safety precautions are in place.”

Following the last change in alcohol policy, HoCo chairs circulated petitions asking officials to allow kegs at the tailgate parties. This year, HoCo chairs have not yet met to discuss the new alcohol restrictions but will be meeting October 7 with Associate Dean of the College Judith H. Kidd and Assistant Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin.

“We are still in the process of electing officers,” said Eliot HoCo co-Chair Anna Himmelrich ’05. “We will probably wait until next week to make our own plans and manage expectations for the event.”

This year’s changes to enforcement originate not with University Hall, however, but with the Boston Police Department, according to Mahan’s email. Mahan said he and Deans Kidd and McLoughlin are researching alternatives. Because the stadium is located across the Charles—in Allston, not Cambridge—it is under the jurisdiction of Boston police.

One suggestion Mahan mentioned in his email to HoCo chairs would be a “pancake breakfast” sponsored by the Houses to encourage students to eat starches prior to attending tailgates—hopefully minimizing instances of alcohol poisoning.

At last year’s Harvard-Yale game, alcohol flowed freely under the more liberal statutes of Connecticut and policies of Yale. But the return of The Game to Cambridge means that Harvard regulations and state laws apply once more.

“There is zero tolerance for any alcohol,” said Boston Police Department officer John Boyle. “We’re going by Massachusetts law.”

Kidd declined to comment for this article, because she said that the details of new procedures for The Game had not yet been worked out.

—Staff writer Evan M. Vittor contributed to the reporting of this article.

—Staff writer Joshua P. Rogers can be reached at jprogers@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Bari M. Schwartz can be reached at bschwart@fas.harvard.edu.