Harvard-Yale Weekend Was Good. Here’s How to Make It Great.

What does a pricey nightclub ticket get you on a Friday night at Harvard? Endless lines, rain — and for one unlucky student — a kick in the face from a Soundcloud rapper.

The 140th Harvard-Yale Game weekend was a rollercoaster. It began with a low, a mismanaged party at the Royale nightclub, and peaked with a well-executed student-run tailgate before kickoff.

We applaud the University’s handling of the game-day events: Despite administrators’ warnings about unofficial tailgating, they allowed Saturday to become a weekend highlight. Amidst light rainfall, the student-led tailgate sparked a lively morning of school spirit before it was broken up and students filed into the stadium.

We speak for many undergraduates from Harvard and Yale alike when we say we appreciate Harvard’s decision to allow the event to run for a few hours before its shutdown. Harvard may have lost to Yale, but Saturday’s tailgate was a clear win.

Friday night was a different story.

On gameday eve, students faced an unsatisfying choice between trekking to Boston for high-priced parties or staying put on a relatively lifeless campus.

For those who chose to make the journey, many found themselves stranded in the frigid rain outside the Royale nightclub. That party — hosted jointly by the Fly and A.D. final clubs, and publicized by the promotions company Viral Motions — ultimately denied entry to over a hundred students who had purchased tickets to the oversold event. It’s a shame that those groups organized such a poorly-run event, swindling their peers in the process.

But they are not the only ones to blame for the failures of that Friday evening. Students leave campus because the College prohibits dorm parties throughout the weekend of Harvard-Yale.

When Yale hosts The Game, visiting students are greeted with an abundance of accessible on-campus events the night before. Student organization mixers and Greek life make Yale’s corner of New Haven the place to be.

In years when Harvard hosts, our best campus party spaces — such as the Cabot Aquarium or the Igloo in Pforzheimer House — can’t even be booked.

When administrators crack down on campus parties, students don’t abandon festivities — they flee to greener pastures in Boston. If we hope to avoid repeats of the Royale ripoff, the College administration must ease on-campus social restrictions. Only then can our student organizations take the reins of campus social life and make Harvard-Yale fun.

Fortunately, next year’s Harvard-Yale will return to New Haven. Harvard should use the extra time to take notes and plan how to make Harvard-Yale 2026 a royal success.

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.

Have a suggestion, question, or concern for The Crimson Editorial Board? Click here.