Like ‘a Hive of Angry Bees’

The hundreds of undergraduates who bought vuvuzelas for Harvard-Yale will have to use them in their rooms, dining halls, or classes, because they will no longer be allowed inside Harvard Stadium during the 127th edition of The Game this Saturday. Although we appreciate the school spirit behind the students’ decisions to buy and distribute vuvuzelas, the sound made by these instruments, which rose to popularity during the 2010 Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup in South Africa this summer, has been compared to “a herd of blaring elephants” or “a hive of angry bees.” Therefore, the ban is appropriate, given the number of people who attend The Game as a social experience and how detrimental vuvuzelas would be to that experience.

The rivalry between Harvard and Yale rests on an all-in-good fun attitude, and is not about actually damaging fans of either side. There have been many instances of this rivalry being exercised in an enjoyable and not harmful way. In 2004, Yale students handed out fliers to Harvard students that collectively read “We Suck.” (Obviously, we don’t.) Harvard student groups print t-shirts with derogatory sayings about Yale every year; this year’s Harvard College Fund Undergraduate Committee t-shirt says, “Google ‘safety school’…’ Did you mean Yale?’” These playful jokes bolster school spirit on both sides, and enhance the positive social experience that Harvard-Yale provides.

However, vuvuzelas are different from other spirit-raising techniques because they can cause actual physical harm. The vuvuzela, traditionally made from a kudu horn, was originally used to summon distant people for meetings; it was not intended to be heard continuously at close range. In an article published in the South African Medical Journal, two audiologists from the University of Florida and the University of Pretoria tested the hearing of 11 World Cup spectators before and after matches, and they found that the average sound exposure was 100.5 decibels. To put this in context, British occupational standards dictate that workers exposed to greater than 85 decibels be given special hearing protections. As noted by The Hearing Journal, a vuvuzela is louder than either a lawnmower or a chainsaw, and exposure to sounds of greater than 100 decibels for more than 15 minutes could cause permanent hearing damage. Because “The Game” will most definitely last much longer than 15 minutes, this danger is real.

Additionally, vuvuzelas disrupt more than the fan experience; the band and athletes deserve not to be interrupted, as well. Harvard-Yale provides the band with its premier opportunity to showcase its talents for the entire student body. Their funny, creative halftime show deserves to be audible to the entire audience, and so do the lively takes on popular songs that they play during breaks. Also of import, vuvuzelas could disrupt the football players on the field (including Harvard athletes), and mitigating their success seems counterproductive to the intention of the vuvuzela campaign. Also, if either Harvard or Yale brought more vuvuzelas, their side would have an advantage in the match. We don’t need such an advantage because Harvard will undoubtedly win anyway, and we would feel bad if our victory was attributed to our ability to organize a South African horn-buying campaign rather than our superior athletic prowess.

We understand that some fans were greatly looking forward to trumpeting their vuvuzelas at The Game, and that they see the ban as detrimental to their experience. While we understand the importance of this concern, Harvard-Yale has been an enjoyable experience for 126 years, without vuvuzelas, so we doubt their absence will demonstrably change the social nature of the event.

It’s unfortunate that the athletic department announced its decision so late, after many people had already bought vuvuzelas. As recently as last week, Associate Director of Athletics Timothy W. Wheaton had expressed that the horns would be allowed in the stadium, because they do not violate National Collegiate Athletic Association regulations. We hope that in future years, the Department of Athletics notifies us of game-day rules well in advance, so that we can focus all of our energies on doing what we do best: beating Yale.