Tailgaters dumping H-Y for Princeton

Colleges & Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>Saybrook College students can look forward to a special treat at this Saturday's Yale-Princeton tailgate. The college will serve a roasted pig - weighing over 100 pounds - in honor of the game, which may draw more Yale fans than the Harvard-Yale game this year. </p>

<p>At least one of the residential college Student Activities Committees will not be throwing a tailgate in Cambridge this season, and a number of colleges will focus instead on the Yale-Princeton tailgate in New Haven, student representatives said. Several traditional tailgate hosts will also abstain from the Harvard festivities in favor of the tailgate this weekend. Students said Harvard's new alcohol restrictions, the few spots reserved for Yale-sponsored tailgates and the lack of college-subsidized transportation have contributed to their disinterest in The Game this year. </p>

<p>Silliman SAC President Jeff Sun '08 said the college decided to forfeit its tailgate spot in Cambridge because of Harvard's restrictive rules. Sun said he thinks more Yalies will attend the Princeton game because of the high cost of travel to Harvard. </p>

<p>"It's more accessible to Yale students because it's at home," Sun said. "We won't have to deal with Harvard and all the restrictions they're putting on." </p>

<p>Silliman is not the only community that has shown little interest in tailgating at The Game. While tailgating places are reserved for the 12 residential colleges, other groups must apply for the eight remaining slots, and the Yale College Council received no submissions by the Nov. 5 deadline. The deadline has been extended to Nov. 12, but YCC Secretary Zach Marks '09 said the Council has still received only one completed application from a group of School of Management students. A number of students have inquired about tailgate spots, however, and the YCC expects to see the number of applicants increase, he said. </p>

<p>Sigma Alpha Epsilon - which usually holds a tailgate at Harvard-Yale and all home games - will not throw one at Harvard this year, said Dave Kemp '08, the fraternity's president. </p>

<p>Director of Sports Publicity Steve Conn said the Athletics Department is expecting a large turnout at the Yale Bowl this weekend. He said he thinks Yale students are excited about this game because if Yale wins, it will at least share the Ivy League title. </p>

<p>"The Yale-Princeton game has not meant much for a long time," Conn said. "Harvard has traditionally been the big season finale." </p>

<p>Conn said the home tailgating rules introduced last year are still in effect. Drinking games or related paraphernalia will not be allowed in the tailgating area, and the parties must be shut down after halftime..."</p>

<p><a href="http://www.yaledailynews.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=34279%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.yaledailynews.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=34279&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

2

<p>Is it time for a new November tradition? </p>

<p>That has been the question on every Yalie's mind as the reports about Harvard's 2006 tailgates get sadder and sadder. In 2004, the ban on kegs and U-Hauls, though it seemed outrageous at the time, turned out merely to foreshadow the disappointments to come. The next year, when it was the Cantabs' turn to come down to New Haven, Yale gave the appearance, at least, of tightening its own tailgate restrictions to keep up with its safety-minded rival. The 2005 Game, it is generally agreed, struck an acceptable balance between safety and good, clean, drunken fun. </p>

<p>Since Harvard's decision to escalate the battle against drinking this year, the news has gotten steadily worse. It's apparently not enough that we not allowed to bring booze into the tailgate at all; now, we must buy from Harvard what we do consume. It's not enough that drinkers will be fenced off from the rest of the tailgates; now, Harvard has cut two-thirds of the spots available to Yale student groups. It's not enough to drive three hours to get to Cambridge; now, we must pay $60 for a round-trip ticket. </p>

<p>Admittedly, this last point is not directly Harvard's fault, but it is a good example of how differently everyone is viewing The Game this year. Perhaps because of the extra restrictions - or the perception that student interest dropped off because of said restrictions - the Council of Masters no longer finds it necessary to encourage students to make the trip. </p>

<p>Much has been made of the idea that the Harvard administration's draconian policies are eroding one of the great Ivy League traditions. But while this may be true, students don't have to take a passive role. By rejecting Harvard's feeble excuse for a Game, we can send a clear message that, next year, Yale should not blindly follow Harvard's example. We commend Harvard's houses for making an effort to increase the number of parties the night before The Game, but this is not enough. </p>

<p>Princeton doesn't matter, as the saying goes. But in light of our traditional rival's constant attempts to put a damper on fun, it may be time to re-evaluate the truth of this statement. Many student groups that didn't apply for a spot at Harvard are instead staging their main tailgate at Saturday's game against Princeton. We can think of no better way to express our dissatisfaction with Harvard's policies than spurning their hospitality in favor of treating our visitors from New Jersey to a real party. </p>

<p>The importance of the Princeton game for our Ivy title hopes is fitting. We call on our fellow Elis to come out en masse on Saturday - not only to support the team, but also to make a statement about what a tailgate and a game should be. Sure, you can pay your $60 bus fee to get to and from Cambridge next week, but this weekend, go out and drink that spiked hot chocolate while watching Yale beat Princeton...</p>

<p><a href="http://www.yaledailynews.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=34235%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.yaledailynews.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=34235&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

3

<p>Go Princeton!</p>

4

<p>Harvard is making it harder for Yalies to get drunk at The Game? Oh, the horror! The Apocalypse must truly be upon us.</p>

5

<p>and only giving out EIGHT tailgating permits to undergrads. Pathetic. Yale is by far a more gracious guest to the Harvard cohorts. In fact every year the Crimson publishes some sort of criticism that they wish Harvard could arrange "The Game" the way Yale does, i.e. without a thousand restrictions.</p>

6

<p>OMG I know one of the Yalies interviewed!!!!! He went to my school!!!!!</p>

7

<p>I can second the claim that there is little to no enthusiasm on the Yale campus regarding The Game this year. With all the restrictions from Harvard, the Council's added decision to not subsidize transportation was kind of the last straw.</p>

8

<p>A roasted pig? Are they going to do it Hawaiian-style (bury it with hot coals for a whole day)?</p>

9

<p>it is obvious that you don't understand the real meaning of the Game or what was the Game. It is not about the football game. That's the sideshow.</p>

10

<p>classof1986,</p>

<p>You mean sort of like the two Harvard frosh co-eds that were down the aisle from me last year at the Yale Bowl, with vomit all over themselves as they rotated around their own body axis in a dunken stupor. It was absolutely revolting. Fortunately, there were two Harvard upperclassmen keeping an eye on them.</p>

11

<p>UMDAD, precisely. Which is why Harvard is making some minimal efforts this year to contain underage drinking and the drunkenness in general. I, for one, applaud them for it. Despite all the OP's complaining and the numerous threads he has generated on this subject, I truly do not think The Game is about getting blind drunk and vomiting all over oneself and others (or worse). Call me old-fashioned, I guess.</p>

12

<p>oh give me a break. The alcohol restrictions placed two years ago at the Harvard tailgating fiasco led to an INCREASE in the number of hospitalizations. At Yale, the tailgating is much less regulated and much safer. These regulations are a bunch of BS.</p>

<p>as the Crimson says, rightly so today:
"We don’t believe the level of this year’s restrictions is necessary or even that in and of itself it will lead to a marked increase in student safety. Instead, it falls upon us to act responsibly. Both for our individual safety, and for the potential of more relaxed regulations in the future, we hope to have a safe and enjoyable day"</p>

13

<p>Here's another piece from today's Crimson:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=515808%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=515808&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>“I think the new restrictions are comical. Am I going to The Game? No. I am going to do everything I usually do at a Harvard-Yale tailgate at the Princeton-Yale tailgate.” </p>

<p>Thus wrote a recent Yale alum in an e-mail to me when he learned of the new tailgate restrictions coming to the Game. As much as it pains me to admit, I think it’s clear he is more accurate than not. </p>

<p>Forecasting is always a dangerous habit for opinion journalists. A quick perusal of the predictions made by leading conservatives in the week before the election—“Santorum can pull it out!” “Allen will never lose!” “What backlash?”—shows just how inaccurate one can be. Yet it still seems safe to say that this year’s tailgate, a huge part of the Harvard-Yale experience, will be a major disappointment. </p>

<p>Predictably, Harvard administrators have reacted to this de facto banning of the tailgate with the usual poisonous mix of flattery, self-congratulation, and simple idiocy that one has almost come to expect. (Remember, Harvard put a library office building in the middle of Harvard Square and student-group offices in a library in the Quad.) The College’s clueless attitude is best illustrated by the comment of Campus Life Fellow John T. Drake ’06 in a recent Crimson article: “Have we [Harvard] ever once not been attracted to a party because Yale students aren’t going to be there?” This sort of attitude—“We’re awesome! We don’t need people to show up”—is the best way to have an embarrassingly lame party. </p>

<p>Going even further, Drake glibly noted that “we haven’t given up the hope that Yale can have fun. ” What planet do these people come from? Last I checked, Yale’s tailgates were a virtually undisputed success. Does anyone that made the trip to New Haven last year really expect that our straight-jacketed, fenced-in, police-state tailgate will vaguely approach the fun of the more anarchic atmosphere outside the Yale Bowl last November...</p>

14

<p>You sound much more like a former poster, Class of 1962, eh old man?</p>

15

<p>Nice use of selective quotation. Here's a link to the whole editorial: <a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=515805%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=515805&lt;/a>. And a longer excerpt:
[quote]
More than that, while much has been made of what seem to be unduly harsh restrictions on this year’s tailgate, much less attention has been given to how we can avoid even harsher restrictions in the future and how we can generally ensure a safe and fun tailgate. Despite the widespread belief that this year’s tailgate will mark a return to Prohibition, Harvard-Yale will not be dry. Those who provide proof of age will be sold $1 beer at the tailgate. Moreover, many of us will find other ways and times—before, during, and after the game—to drink, but it is of utmost importance that we do so in moderation.
The risks associated with overdrinking are well known; there are high correlations between drunkenness and sexual assault, and heavy drinking can even lead to death. Our boys in blue did not just get involved in our tailgates out of the blue. In 2002, an intoxicated Harvard student almost died in an ambulance stuck in the tailgate mud. We all need to be safe for our individual and communal benefit.

[/quote]
And for anyone who doesn't think alcohol abuse is a major problem on campuses today, I encourage you to check out this thread in the Parents Forum. <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=261116%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=261116&lt;/a>. A couple of stats from the first post in that thread:
[quote]
Nearly 1,400 college students die each year from alcohol-related deaths, roughly 500,000 students have injuries and 70,000 students are sexually abused because of alcohol abuse, according to a 2002 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

[/quote]
</p>

16

<p>The rest of the article is boring and I left it out not to be "selective" (whatever that means, since all quotes are technically "selective"), but rather because it presents nothing new other than the need to urinate in the port-a-potty instead of on ohiri. When was the last student at Harvard to die from alcohol? or Yale for that matter? We're not talking about raging kegger schools here. Its HY for god's sake! If anyting, mud is the real threat to student's health (and its going to rain)</p>

17

<p>Have you forgotten already about Matt Thomas's alcohol-induced assault that resulted in his being kicked off the Harvard football team, which you trumpeted last spring on the Harvard board (<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=205314)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=205314)&lt;/a>? Or the drunken brawl involving Yale's two football stars last month (<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=245720)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=245720)&lt;/a>, though apparently Yale doesn't discipline its football players for such things. I suppose your standard is that it's all fine so long as no one actually dies?</p>

<p>Here's a recent report (a couple of years old) on alcohol abuse at Harvard: <a href="http://www.provost.harvard.edu/reports/alcohol_and_health.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.provost.harvard.edu/reports/alcohol_and_health.pdf&lt;/a>. Judging from your prior posts about how Yale is better than Harvard because it's easier to get drunk there, my guess is that the alcohol abuse problems at Yale are as bad or worse.</p>

18

<p>right because banning alcohol, limiting the visiting tailgating area to 8 spots, banning parties the night before the HY game, the biggest game of the year and alumni event of the year for both schools, somehow ties into fights involving drunk athletes months ago. I could see making the argument for overall alcohol policy (which wouldn't matter anyway because I think many of the involved are over 21) and violence, but we're talking about a tailgate and a football game. come on, get real.</p>

19

<p>CB, perhaps you should "get real." I understand that, for you, The Game and the overall college experience is about getting drunk, but that attitude is part of the problem, not part of the solution.</p>

<p>For anyone else following this interchange, take a look at the discussion about alcohol at "big events" starting on page 8, paragraph 6 in the report I linked above. Note the comment about the Harvard student who almost died from alcohol poisoning at The Game in 2002. Harvard is not trying to control drinking at The Game because they're mean-spirited - it's a basic health and safety issue. (And they're not banning alcohol, tailgating - 20 spots for Yalies and they still haven't all been claimed - or parties, they're just trying to keep them within relatively safe parameters.)</p>

<p>I'm also happy to report that some students actually still think The Game is about The Game:
[quote]
“If it’s absolutely pouring and the College cancels the tailgate, we will definitely be at The Game,” said Quincy House Committee Co-Chair Melissa M. Trahan ’07. “That’s what Saturday’s all about.” <a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=515821%5B/url%5D%5B/quote%5DImagine"&gt;http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=515821

[/quote]
Imagine</a> that!</p>

20

<p>Does anyone care about the outcome of the actual game, or is the ability to tailgate the #1 topic for discussion?</p>