Dangerous and Disappointing Changes for Yardfest

Last week, the University announced new changes to this year’s edition of Yardfest, the annual spring concert in Tercentenary Theater. These alterations come as a response to the serious problems associated with last year’s event, when a black student was the victim of alleged police brutality and over 17 students were hospitalized for intoxication.

Harvard’s changes to Yardfest this year are incredibly disappointing on many levels. We fear aspects of the new policy — no guests, no re-entry, and changes to the time and day — will hinder student enjoyment of the event. While we understand the need to curb excessive student intoxication, policies like these may exacerbate the problem.

Though the lessened pressure on first-responders on Sunday informs the move to Sunday, having Yardfest so close to Monday morning classes might reflect poorly on attendance.

Moreover, the new no-guest policy hampers a unique opportunity to foster relationships through this shared experience with individuals outside of the University.

The no re-entry policy, however, is especially concerning. Yardfest is seen as the premier College-wide social event of the spring, analogous to Harvard-Yale in the fall; accordingly, substance use and abuse exist at these events. The social centrality of Yardfest only heightens this truth, even in the face of such changes. The University’s failure to recognize this may lead to students finding themselves in a dangerous position outside of the event.

Under the old policy, students could exit and re-enter the Yard during the event, allowing for consumption of alcohol and other substances at will. With this new change, we are concerned students might indulge in binge-drinking for the effects to last the length of the event. This would run directly contrary to the University’s express desires and pose serious risks to student health and safety.

While all of these policies are cause for concern, they are overshadowed by the forcible arrest of a black undergraduate last year that sparked allegations of police brutality. Though we have previously lauded the University’s November report on the incident, we believe Harvard has still not taken sufficient action to address past wrongs or prevent similar incidents in the future.

In the review committee’s report, one improvement called for the clarification of the respective roles of Harvard University Health Services and the Harvard University Police Department. In a March email announcing new policies regarding this year’s Yardfest, the College referenced neither HUHS nor HUPD — and it did not clarify the respective roles of either body should an emergency arise. If these changes have been made, the College should publicize them. If no changes have not, Harvard should work to determine the roles of each organization for the safety of all its community members.

It is absolutely appropriate for the University to try to improve Yardfest both for safety and for student enjoyment. But we fear that the changes enacted for this year will do neither. Even so, it is unfortunate that any change in student behavior could be attributed solely to the changes the University made to Yardfest and not to students learning from last year, an outlier in student intoxication.

College spokesperson Aaron M. Goldman has stated that these changes are not set in stone for future Yardfests and that it “will be evaluating all aspects of the event to help in our planning for future years.” The administration must stand by this promise to seriously and rigorously evaluate the efficacy of the changes that they have made.

The spectre of last year will loom large at Yardfest 2019. Overall, we hope students stay safe and enjoy the music.

This staff editorial solely represents the majority view of The Crimson Editorial Board. It is the product of discussions at regular Editorial Board meetings. In order to ensure the impartiality of our journalism, Crimson editors who choose to opine and vote at these meetings are not involved in the reporting of articles on similar topics.