UC Tailgate Fails to Attract Large Crowds

When Arya Mehrabanzad ’14 came to Harvard from Texas, he said he thought his days of football fanaticism were over.

At the student tailgate before last Saturday’s Holy Cross football game—an event co-sponsored by Harvard University Athletics and the Undergraduate Council—he said his fears may have been confirmed.

“Lately I’ve been worried that there’s not a lot of school spirit,” Mehrabanzad said. “I was told to expect this, but I’m kind of disappointed.”

This weekend’s barbeque was the third UC-sponsored event intended to ammend the perceived lack of athletic pride at Harvard, according to UC President Johnny F. Bowman ’11. After the results of last spring’s UC survey indicated that 61 percent of student respondents approved of last April’s UC tailgate at the Harvard-Duke lacrosse game, Bowman said that he and UC Vice President Eric N. Hysen ’11 decided to continue using athletics to bring students together. Along with Saturday’s tailgate, the UC partnered with University Athletics to sponsor a raffle and give away T-shirts and sunglasses at a men’s soccer game earlier this month.

“Harvard social life is so decentralized,” Bowman said. “Sports is one of the few areas where we can bring the entire Harvard community together.”

And with University Athletics footing the bill for these events—all of which have included free food, giveaways, and raffles—sporting events are a no-cost way for the UC to create a larger Harvard social community, which Bowman said has been a goal of his administration.

While food ran out in 20 minutes at last spring’s lacrosse tailgate, this time around, it was nearly kickoff—two hours after the barbecue’s start—before the 250 free food tickets and iPad raffle tickets ran out, according to Associate Director of Athletics Sue D. Byrne.

But Byrne said she was pleased with the turnout at the game, adding that game-goers overflowed the newly expanded student section at Harvard Stadium. She attributed low turnout at the tailgate to other student group and House events that occurred simultaneously.

Many of the students eating pulled pork sandwiches and red beans and rice at the barbecue were athletes, who said they went over to the UC tent only after food at the adjacent athlete tailgate had run low.

Kirkland House UC representative Ivet A. Bell ’13 said that she hopes better outreach to students will encourage more people to come to future UC-sponsored sports events.

“A simple e-mail won’t get people to come out,” Bell said. “What reps should be doing is really talking to people and having that personal connection to bring people out to events.”

—Staff writer Stephanie B. Garlock can be reached at sgarlock@college.harvard.edu.