Tailgate's On, But Pre-Parties Off

Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 announced Friday that the Boston City Licensing Board has granted approval for the Nov. 18 Harvard-Yale tailgate party on Ohiri field. The rules presented by the College, including the rule banning undergraduates from bringing alcoholic beverages into the student tailgate area, have now been formalized and will be enforced by Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) the day of the game.

The three-hour long tailgate will have multiple stations manned by staff from Professional Bartending Inc. that will sell beer and spiked hot chocolate to students of legal drinking age for $1, the rules state. Students wishing to purchase alcohol must show two forms of identification, including a Harvard ID and a driver’s license or passport.

The rules also state that vehicles approaching the tailgate area will be inspected before entering. "Visibly intoxicated" individuals will also not be permitted inside the student tailgate area at any time.

According to Associate Dean of the College Judith H. Kidd, who represented the College during last week’s discussions with the licensing board, the meeting "went smoothly and there are no remaining concerns."

Harvard will organize a pep rally the Thursday night before the game and host campus-wide parties, jointly funded by the House Committees (HoCos), on Friday only.

Despite initial plans to throw parties on the Thursday night before the game as well, the College has decided not to allow such parties due to a shortage of police detail, according to Mather HoCo Co-Chair Andrew B. Artz ’07.

Artz said the decision was presented to House masters after Francis D. Riley, the chief of HUPD, expressed concern that there might not be enough police supervision on Thursday to ensure "everyone has a safe party."

But according to HUPD spokesman Steven G. Catalano, HUPD had no part in the decision.

"To clarify HUPD did not have any part of canceling parties on the Thursday before "The Game,"" he wrote in an e-mail.

Despite the cancellation, some undergraduates said the decision wasn’t unexpected.

"It wasn’t all that much of a surprise," Dunster HoCo co-chair Jarred D. Brown ’07 said, characterizing the proposed Thursday night all-campus parties as "wishful thinking."

This year, student groups and HoCos planning to host a tailgate were required to submit a detailed application by this past Monday. Each HoCo will have a guaranteed lot at the tailgate, according to Campus Life Fellow John T. Drake ‘06, but not all other applications will be granted approval.

According to Artz, student groups may now bring food into the tailgate as long as they meet "sanitary standards," a change from the College’s initial proposal.

While the initial announcement of tailgate plans elicited widespread disappointment, students said last night that they hoped to make the most of the restrictions.

"Frankly a lot of people are still wary of how exactly it will play out," said Matthew R. Greenfield ’08, vice-chair of education for the Student Advisory Committee. "But the idea that it’s all bad news has evaporated largely."

Mather House plans on constructing a wooden replica of its house, Mather HoCo co-chair Aaron Gibralter said.

Students were also quick to praise the College’s efforts to accommodate the Boston Police while still attempting to make the Game as fun as possible.

"[The administrators] also have to look forward to the next 15 to 20 years to this Allston initiative," Brown said last night, "There’s a very big political line."