Freshmen Plan for Housing Day Eve

Some members of the Class of 2014 say that they plan to take part in “River Run,” drunken festivities to take place on Housing Day eve tonight, despite the administration’s condemnation of the event.

Dean of Freshmen Thomas A. Dingman ’67 sent an e-mail to the freshman class last week denouncing River Run—a recent tradition on the eve of Housing Day during which freshmen move from House to House, drinking shots of alcohol at their favorite ones in the hopes of being placed in their preferred House the next day.

Some students also attempt to burn boats on the Charles River containing the names of Houses they either do or do not want.

In his e-mail, Dingman called the tradition “dangerous,” pointing out that boat burning is “a violation of local law.”

“If you build a boat, and attempt to launch it on the Charles River, you will be stopped by the police,” Dingman wrote.

He also condemned the consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol this evening.

According to Dingman, security guards, Harvard University Police, Cambridge Police, and Massachusetts State Police will be present tonight to enforce laws regarding underage drinking.

Most students said that they were undeterred by the administration’s threats.

“I’m taking shots at every House,” said one freshman in Annenberg.

Some students said they did not plan to participate in River Run because they had midterms the following day. Still others said they had never heard of the activity and therefore did not plan to attend.

Several students said that although they intend to take part in the drinking component of River Run, they do not plan to burn boats out of fear that such antics would draw the attention of the police.

“Traditions like this are fun,” said a freshman boy in Matthews. “If you kill it because of a few liabilities, it’ll crush school spirit.”

But Associate Dean of Student Life Joshua G. McIntosh said that he did not define River Run as a “tradition,” as it began only four years ago with members of the Class of 2011.

It was not until 2008 that the boat-burning and house-hopping traditions associated with modern River Run emerged, and very few students participated in that year’s River Run festivities, McIntosh said.

But though River Run may be relatively new, Housing Day festivities have a more storied history.

The Crimson reported two years ago that William F. Abely ’99 and his blocking group were the first to perform a sacrificial ritual on the eve of Housing Day.

“I don’t know where the genesis for the idea came from but we ended up taking our plant from PBHA sale at the beginning of the year and brought it down to the Weeks foot bridge, doused it in Jack Daniels and lit it on fire and dumped it over the edge of the bridge and hoped for the river,” Abely told The Crimson in 2009.

The group ended up in a suite overlooking the river in Leverett House—their first choice.

The antics of the Class of 2012, which Dingman described in his e-mail as “extreme,” required the Cambridge Fire Department to respond to a possible fire at the Weld Boat House.

Members of HUPD and officers of the Cambridge and Massachusetts State Police forces were called.

“My observation from two years ago is that these activities were very unsafe for students,” McIntosh said.

Concerned over safety and liability issues, administrators last year banned River Run, implementing the same restrictions for Housing Day eve that are in effect tonight.

According to McIntosh, although some students still participated in illicit River Run activities, last year represented a great improvement.

“There certainly was a very dramatic shift from the year before that, when I feared that significant numbers of students were engaging in dangerous activities,” McIntosh said.

The Freshman Dean’s Office hopes that instead of drinking, students will attend “Fresh Fest,” an alternative event tonight in Annenberg organized by the First-Year Social Committee at the same time that River Run festivities could potentially occur.

—Staff writer Hana N. Rouse can be reached at hrouse@college.harvard.edu.