College Kicks Off Harvard-Yale Spirit Week with Free Food and Merch

As the 141st annual Harvard-Yale football game approaches this Saturday, the College Events Board kicked off its spirit week with free merchandise and food at the Science Center Plaza Tuesday night, drawing nearly a thousand students.

Tuesday’s HYpefest was one of many spirit festivities that serve as a precursor of the Harvard-Yale game, which is one of the U.S.’s oldest rivalries in college sports and the biggest sporting event of the year for Harvard students.

After making it through a line extending past Annenberg Hall, students were given free tickets to use on merchandise like sweatshirts, buttons, and scarves donning the classic crimson and white, as well as on an order from foodtrucks. The event also featured music and group games like spikeball.

Dylan G. Rhoton ’28, the chairman of the Harvard Yale Spirit Week Committee, said at the event that it was “fantastic” to see Harvard students celebrating together.

“We're getting everyone excited for the game,” Rhoton said. “We are bringing our community together, and I'm glad we're able to do it in a way that everyone who wants to be involved can be.”

Freshmen, who comprised the vast majority of attending students on Tuesday, were similarly excited.

Jonathan Manzo ’29 , said he felt HYpefest had raised school spirit.

“Everyone's more united,” Manzo said. “Everyone is really rooting for Harvard right now.”

Nadia A. Adedoyin ’29 said she was “excited to wear crimson and just show school spirit and have freaking Harvard win.”

Some students, however, said the long line was a drag on the event. Jacquelyn Addo ’29 was frustrated by how long it took for her to actually advance into the event area, calling it “very shocking.”

“You have to get there an hour in advance to be in the front of the line,” Addo said.

“It's very crowded. We're supposed to have a line, but it's more like a mosh,” Manzo added. “But it's still fun.”

Others said they liked coming together in spirit, even if HYpefest didn’t fully deliver on the hype.

“I don’t know if it increased my school spirit,” Addo said. “My excitement is still the same, though.

“For freshmen, our excitement is always going to be really high, just because it’s our first Harvard-Yale as Harvard students,” she added.

While Oyindamola N. Akintola ’29 called the event “not hype,” she said she did see people gathering to have fun.

“I guess we're on the track,” she said, adding that it was still early in the week.

Whether satisfied with the event’s spirit or not, students were still excited for Harvard and Yale to face off in their historic rivalry this Saturday.

“I can't wait to go to Harvard Yale, not only to see Harvard win, but also to make Yale friends,” Tayveon J. Moore ’29 said.

“The buildup is making everything more exciting,” Angel Darko ’29 said. “So I'm just waiting for that game. I'm ready.”