No Ping Pong Balls Allowed

After complaining ad nauseam about last year’s Harvard tailgate restrictions, Yale students may be eating their words in a few short weeks when the Game moves to their own newly-restricted territory. Last Monday, Yale College administrators announced that this year’s tailgate must end by the beginning of the third quarter and will prohibit drinking games and drinking paraphernalia. And we recently learned that Yale’s Council of Masters is barring room parties with more than 20 students in attendance on the night before the Game. Far from alleviating safety concerns, the restrictions simply prove that Yale is still lame in all regards.

Yale’s new restrictions do not solve the safety problems of the tailgate. If students want to drink, they will find a way to drink no matter what restrictions are imposed. Even though the tailgate will be shorter, students will not necessarily drink less. We stand by our previous assertion that it is more likely that students will drink harder and earlier than they would if the tailgate atmosphere were more relaxed. Without the playful spirit and competition of drinking games such as Beirut and flip cup—games near and dear to the college student’s heart—the only competition will be against the clock. The policies will only aggravate irresponsible drinking, not control it.

Forcing game attendance also makes Yale especially lame. The implementation of this rule shows that a majority of students evidently only care about tailgating instead of supporting their own football team. It seems somewhat pathetic that Yale is forced to take this paternalistic approach to school spirit during a highly publicized game with a rival—and admittedly intimidating—team. Shutting down the tailgate will also be logistically difficult with an unruly group of very drunk students who are not interested in a football game. Instead of these rowdy students trickling in throughout the game, it is more likely that they will storm into the Yale Bowl, drunkenly disturbing the people who are actually interested in the game. Let the tailgaters be tailgaters and let the football fans be football fans.

As for the new restrictions against 21-person room parties, we see no sense in these prohibitive steps. Limiting pre-Game soirees to such a small number of students simply means less fun—unless Yalie rooms are so small that they make for fire hazards.

Still, Harvard students should make the trip down to the New Haven. Every year, students declare they will attend the game, but change their mind at the last minute, pressured by the stress of classes and a curious suspicion that they won’t have fun. But the tailgate and Game are always fun, even if Yale is hosting them. It only happens once a year, and it is certainly worth taking time out from studying to support a fun college rivalry. And for those freshmen worried that they might find themselves wandering aimlessly the skid row that is New Haven, University Hall has arranged for all students, not just upperclassmen, to crash in Yale’s residential colleges.

Finally, we thank the Undergraduate Council (UC) and House Committees (HoCos) for their advanced planning for the Game. The UC is arranging convenient shuttle transportation for students who wish to attend the Game. Due to the logistics of transporting alcohol over state lines, the HoCos are prearranging a combined alcohol purchase in New Haven.

As the Game approaches, we hope for a fun, safe weekend for Harvard students, even if it is at Yale.