First Snow: First-Years Grin and Bare It

The first snowfall of the school year caused several daring first-years to grin and bare it Monday night-literally.

In one incident, three students, part of a crowd of several dozen gathered in Harvard Yard, streaked naked across the Yard, as Associate Dean of Freshmen W.C. Burris Young '55 and two Harvard police officers stood nearby, according to bystander Grace T. Samodal '95.

"They ran right past the dean and the police officers," Samodal said. "The police officers just got in the car and drove away."

One of the streakers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in an interview with The Crimson yesterday that he and his roommates had planned the nude run several weeks ago and were waiting for the first snowfall.

"A couple of the guys and I do have a fondness for streaking, I guess," he said.

A fellow streaker, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said running past the dean made the entire episode more exciting.

"As soon as we got in, one of our friends told us triumphantly that we'd run past Burris Young," the streaker said. "That was an added bonus."

The streakers said that when they reached Weld Hall, they paused in a friend's room before running back.

"For about five minutes the three of us sat down buck naked on his couch," one of the streakers said. "A couple people walked in, including some girls, and we just sat there, no big deal."

"We kind of intimidated our friend when we were just sitting there naked," said the other. "He didn't like that too much."

Their friend, Walter E.B. Sipe '95, said he was only bothered by the health concerns of having three nude men on his couch.

"The source of my displeasure wasn't that they were sitting on my couch but that their hanging organs were sitting on my couch. So I just told them to ease up there for hygienic reasons," he said.

The streakers said they subsequently excited Weld Hall through a back door and ran back to their dormitory.

Although the three men claim to have been the evening's first streakers, they were not the last. Tracey H. Stokes '95 said she saw several naked students standing in the snow.

"A couple people just took off their clothes," Stokes said. "One girl just took off the top half of her clothes. She took her shirt off, her sweatshirt off, her bra off, everything off, and she just stood there."

"There was one guy who ran all the way to Hollis or Holworthy completely naked," Stokes said.

Stephen J. Cox '95 admitted yesterday that he was the streaker referred to by Stokes. Cox said that he was standing in the middle of the Yard with some friends when the first streakers ran by, and that their act prompted him to further the cause.

"In a moment of recklessness I just took off my shorts and started running," Cox said. "But when I got to Hollis there was no one there. So I stood there for about a minute waiting for someone to open the door and no one did," he said.

After about a minute, Cox said, he became nervous. "I ran around the corner to Mower where someone was standing there and they let me in, and I ran downstairs and put on my clothes," Cox said.

Traditional Events, Too

While streaking was not the only event to mark the first snow, several students said it was the most memorable.

"There were a lot of people [streaking]," said Hilary B. Hanson '95. "Well, not a lot, but compared to how many people normally streak across the Yard, I guess there were a lot doing it."

In addition to the streakers, some students celebrated the snowfall more traditionally by singing Christmas carols, playing frisbee and football, and jogging around the Yard.

Joseph B. Nadol III '95 called the evening exciting. "It was the most fun I've had all year," he said