Students Partake in UC-Sponsored Snowball Fight

Chomping on donuts and sipping hot chocolate, freshmen reveled in the snow Monday courtesy of a Undergraduate Council-sponsored snowball fight in Harvard Yard.

Though Cambridge saw heavy snowfall throughout Sunday, most courses were held as usual Monday. Despite the slushy conditions, students said the UC’s spontaneous funding of winter treats left some students feeling better about the prospect of continued classes.

Students like Diana Ding ’20 gathered to converse with friends, while others played in the snow.

“I think it’s a really fun idea,” she said. “It’s really simple, but it’s something that everyone will want to come to, and I’m really excited.”

Finance Committee Chair Neel Mehta ’18 said he decided to come to the freshmen event to see the UC’s money in action, as well as to participate in the snowball fight. Approximately 50 students munched on the snacks and lobbed snowballs at each other.

“I have never been in a snowball fight in college, so this is a very, very good thing. I’m so glad they put it on,” Mehta said. “One of the best ways we’ve spent $200 dollars.”

Though Lily B. Ge ’20 didn’t throw snowballs, she braved the cold and viewed the event as a respite from her academics.

“This definitely was a really good study break. It feels better than to have to go buy food for myself,” she said.

Lourdes A. M. Kaufman ’20 said despite low temperatures, the snowball fight offered the freshmen class an opportunity to enjoy each other’s company.

“It’s a lot of fun—very cold, but worth it,” she said. “Definitely community building, lots of fun hanging out with our classmates.”

Elm Yard representative Adam E. Harper ’20 said he came up with the idea for a freshmen-wide snowball fight over the weekend while sitting indoors with his friends. Harper said he immediately contacted Freshmen Class Committee members, according to Elm Yard representative Salma Abdelrahman ’20.

“It was actually pretty quick,” she said. “Adam just texted the FCC—Freshman Class Committee—group chat and was like ‘Let's do a snowball fight...let’s do something that will build community and bring people together.’”

On Sunday night at the Council's general meeting, Harper presented an ultimately-successful piece of legislation to allocate $200 of the Council's money to purchase supplies for a freshmen snowball fight.

—Staff writer Andrew J. Zucker can be reached at andrew.zucker@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @AndrewJZucker.