Mather Hypes Up Second Foam Party

The residents of Mather House are getting ready to lather up for their infamous party on Saturday, as they hope to scrub out the negative associations from last year’s shindig by living up to all the hype.

The Mather Lather is back, and with lots of fanfare. The party’s promotional website states: “Love the Lather. Fear the Lather. Either way, the Lather is back.” Scores of Matherites have hung signs exhorting students to come to the party and incorporated Mather boosterism into their portraits on thefacebook.com. The party organizers promise that a better foam machine—which pumps 500 cubic feet of foam per minute—and less overcrowding will make this party far better than last year’s.

But with this year’s bubbly bash, more is on the line than a fun Saturday night.

Last year’s Mather Lather was shut down shortly after midnight by a dozen police officers when a resident tutor called the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD). Soon after the truncated event, the Cambridge Licensing Commission condemned the party for overcrowding and unsafe conditions, resulting in the withdrawal of a permit that had allowed House dining hall parties to run past 1 a.m.

This year, the Lather organizers are under pressure to show that they are capable of throwing a party that lives up to the extreme hype without antagonizing Cambridge or the University. “You have the fun, we’ll take care of the safety,” the Lather website tells partygoers.

LEARNING FROM THE PAST

Last year’s fiasco certainly bears heavily on the way this year’s party is being run.

Nick G. Jameson ’06, co-chair of the Lather, decided to spearhead organizational efforts for this year’s party after being turned away from the short-lived bash last spring. Many of those who could not get into the party last year had already bought a ticket when they were rejected.

“There might be some negative attitude toward Mather because of how things turned out last year,” Jameson says, “but we’re trying to overcome this.”

Jameson and the other Lather co-chair, Sean D. Wilson ’05, prepared a 25-page safety plan that included everything from precise information about emergency exits to detailed schematics of the wood “pit” being constructed in the dining hall to contain the sudsy foam.

“Planning the Lather involved many hours of work,” Jameson says proudly.

The co-chairs presented their booklet to the Mather House Co-Masters Sandra Naddaff and Leigh Hafrey, Assistant Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin II, HUPD Chief Francis D. “Bud” Riley and Alan P. Symonds, technical director for College theatre programs in the Houses.

With the College’s support, Jameson and Wilson then approached the Cambridge Licensing Commission this week for approval.

On Tuesday, the commission approved the party after only a 10-minute discussion with the Mather representatives. The commission required that HUPD officers, Cambridge firefighters and College officials be on hand for the event. In addition, the commission capped the number of tickets sold at 550.

“Busta Rhymes isn’t coming, is he?” one commission member joked, referring to the rapper who starred at SpringFest.

The commission also said future permission requests to throw Mather Lather would be considered on a yearly basis.

“We did not think the decision would be made that quickly,” Wilson says, “but I guess the packet we gave them ahead of time helped speed everything along.”

Naddaff and McLoughlin accompanied the student party organizers to the commission hearing.

“The Masters have been really supportive of us,” Jameson says. “There has been general enthusiasm at all levels.”

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

The Crimson reported last year that the Lather drew 1,300 partygoers, though Jameson calls the figure “a slight exaggeration.”

“Much to the misconception of everyone, we did a lot of planning last year,” says Mather House Committee (HoCo) Treasurer Paul H. Hersh ’04. “It all happened so quickly.”

This year, though, a slew of new efforts have rekindled Matherites’ enthusiasm.

Wilson says Jesse Ventura has been invited to appear at the party. And Mather HoCo Co-Chair Darren S. Morris ’05 says “The Super Foam Dome”—the machine that will produce the lather—is much better than last year’s suds-generator.

“It is a top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art machine,” he says.

And the new foam pit will accommodate more students.

“Last year, it was an experiment,” Morris says of the foam. “There was only foam in the downstairs TV room, which was not enough area.”

The party this year will cost about $5,000-$6,000, Morris says. Ticket sales and a grant from the Undergraduate Council will help Mather break even.

“We will not be making money with Mather Lather,” he says. “We are simply putting this on to show Harvard a good time.”

“The image of Mather has experienced a marked change in recent years,” Morris says. “Before, people just thought of Mather as a house far away...but it is now seen as a House with a lot of spirit and a lot of singles.”

And, according to Morris, the Lather has contributed to the new image.

“We have a lot of fun,” he says.

—Staff writer Nicole B. Urken can be reached at urken@fas.harvard.edu.