The Drys Have It

There is an undeniable temptation to approach the announcement about football games and alcohol with distended check. The conjured prospect of policemen taking exploratory swigs from every coffee thermos does not lend itself to a straightforward discussion of the ruling and the reasons for it.

There are, nonetheless, sound reasons for the mild prohibition, and they have little to do with drinking. The H.A.A.'s action, prompted more by the abuse of liquor containers than of the spirits themselves, has the laudable aim of sparing your date cuts and bruises. So far this term, several spectators, including two young ladies, have been injured by thrown beer cans and bottles. The increase of these injuries over past years is substantial, and so the Faculty Committee on Athletics took action.

The action may not be the most direct. But it is understandable that the committee shied away from a notice requesting an end to the throwing of objects within the Stadium. Such a notice would seem elementary, unworthy of the students. Evidently, though it is elementary, the message is not unworthy but badly needed. A student can throw the beer can from his pocket as easily as from a carton if he is so moved. Checking all bulky liquids at the gate might restrain a few; self restraint must take care of the rest.

This simple, necessary plea cannot be directed to students alone; there is some doubt that they are even the worst offenders. The alumni, back for their yearly glimpse of Harvard football, will not be exempted from the committee's ruling. Neither are they exempted from the rules of common sense.