Mourning the Dunster Goat Roast

The main event of Dunster House’s annual goat roast — the skinning and barbecuing of a locally sourced goat — has been cancelled this year, ending a decades-old tradition. In doing so, Dunster House Faculty Deans Cheryl K. Chen and Sean D. Kelly have cited health concerns and students’ potential discomfort with the event as the motivations for their decision.

We are saddened to see Dunster’s annual goat roast go. The unique and unconventional event distinguished Dunster from its fellow undergraduate Houses on campus. The goat roast is listed as a “go-to” event in descriptions of the House, showing what future Dunster residents can look forward to in terms of community-building events. This event, alongside the traditions of other Houses, such as Mather Lather, Thursday Lowell House Teas, and Eliot House’s Fête formal, are an essential part of House life, engendering a sense of community and pride among residents.

Aside from being a quirky part of Dunster’s traditions, the goat roast sparked thought-provoking conversations among students. The selection, transportation, slaughter, skinning, and barbecuing of the goat forced students to confront the reality of consuming meat, and talk about practices like vegetarianism. The tradition brought to light the production process that goes into every piece of meat we consume, perhaps making students more aware of the usually out-of-sight consequences of their eating decisions. Furthermore, the origins of the event, created by Human and Evolutionary Biology professor and then-resident tutor Daniel E. Lieberman ’86, are rooted in a desire to educate students about how our ancestors once lived, motivating the practice of using paleolithic tools to skin the goat. Events like these, where our horizons are broadened, are part of what make the Harvard experience so transformative and uniquely educational.

While we can’t help feeling a sense of loss in the end of this tradition, we understand that prevailing health concerns and the ensuing safety requirements make it hard to continue in its former state. We appreciate the concerns for students’ safety and well-being that motivated the change. Nevertheless, we hope to see an equally quirky and creative tradition replace the goat roast that will last for many years to come, and that any new iteration of the event will continue to be a staple of community life in Dunster. Hopefully, Dunster residents in the future will attend the new version of the goat roast and continue to have productive discussions over the evolution of the event, asking: “Did you know that we used to skin a local goat right on this lawn?”

This staff editorial solely represents the majority view of The Crimson Editorial Board. It is the product of discussions at regular Editorial Board meetings. In order to ensure the impartiality of our journalism, Crimson editors who choose to opine and vote at these meetings are not involved in the reporting of articles on similar topics.