Football Festivities

While Yale is no doubt inferior to Harvard on the gridiron, as evidenced by its fifth straight loss to the Crimson in the 122nd rendition of the Game, Elihu and his New Haven faithful definitely know how to stage sterling tailgates. In fact, painful as it is to admit, Yale deserves a great deal of credit for overseeing tailgates this year that were virtually arrest free and sans any alcohol-related injuries. Not to mention, while roughly 30 individuals were transported from the Yale Bowl and its environs to nearby hospitals after imbibing excessive amounts of alcohol, this number is a far cry from the over 50 students treated for alcohol related problems at the 2004 Game.

Even more impressively, the problem-free nature of the tailgate wasn’t simply an end product of the rather draconian tailgate rules—no tailgating after halftime, no dancing atop U-Hauls, and no drinking games—drafted by the powers that be at Yale this year. In the 2004 Harvard-Yale football game battled out at Harvard stadium, Captain Evans was appalled by student behavior and went on a crusade to stomp out such improprieties as public urination and funneling. At this year’s Game, the pomp and revelry at the tailgates weren’t marred by an overzealous police force. Law enforcement turned a blind eye to the arbitrary, nonsensical rules drafted by Yale and instead concerned themselves with the safety of students. Thus, tailgates continued into the third and fourth quarter, drinking games were played, and giddy young adults gyrated atop U-Hauls in tune with blaring pop and hip-hop. Apparently, and this is no doubt news to Captain Evans, tailgating safety can be ramped up without quashing beer-fueled merriment.

It should also be noted that, unlike at Harvard, kegs were allowed at this year’s tailgate at Yale. We have long argued that Harvard’s keg ban, instituted in 2000 by then-Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis ’68 due to concern about alcohol abuse at that year’s game, only increases the dangers of alcohol abuse and poisoning among students. This is due to the fact that, in the absence of kegs, students are more inclined to drink heavier and harder earlier for fear that they will be unable to access alcohol at the tailgate. Unable to sip brews outside in the open, under the watchful eye of police and administration officials, students will be tempted to toss back shots of hard liquor in their own rooms without supervision. Clearly, the fact that Yale’s decision to allow kegs didn’t lead to an increase in alcohol-related incidents this year (on the contrary, there was a sharp decline) only bolsters this argument.

Hopefully Harvard, along with Captain Evans and his minions, will follow Yale’s lead next year at the Game and strive to create a safe tailgating atmosphere without impeding upon harmless student revelry by enacting absurd rules that are then strictly enforced. This year’s tailgate in New Haven only proved that U-Hauls, kegs, and laid back law enforcement do nothing to promote the dangerous debauchery that so terrifies the Harvard administration.