Cries of vengeance rang through the air yesterday afternoon as more than 100 first-year students pelted one another with snowballs in the Yard, welcoming in the year's second major snowfall.

The fight began around 3 p.m. and quickly escalated into a wave of attacks and retaliations. Dorm loyalty seemed high, as students quickly formed alliances to dominate the land.

"They are the enemy, and we must not give them any ground!" said Wigglesworth resident Matt B. Botein '95, pointing at Matthews Hall, in between attacks against some of his foes. "We must stop them dead in their tracks!"

But other students, like Chieh T. Cheuung '95, seemed more interested in personal revenge.

"That ugly guy over there with the big nose is my high school classmate," declared Cheung, pointing to John J. Tepedino '95. "I'm going to get my friends to gang-tackle him!"

Tepedino, on the other hand, apparently had other plans for his fellow classmate and current foe.

"My pal from East Islip tried to get his friends to gang tackle me, but wound up sucking some major league snow himself," Tepedino said a few minutes later with a sinister grin.

Preppies Watch Out!

Harvard students were not the only ones taking advantage of the fresh snow. A few dozen students from the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School also showed up to give the Harvard students a piece of their mind.

"It's the townies against the preppies!" shouted a young woman from Cambridge Rindge and Latin, as she moved about the battlefield.

The high school students seemed to be slightly outnumbered, however, for every time they let some snow fly, about 20 Harvard students would swamp them with an icy bombardment.

Even innocent bystanders could not escape all the hostilities during the fray yesterday. A surprised Crimson photographer, Susannah Ross '93, suffered a direct hit as she tried to take some pictures.

"Some guys just snuck up behind me and pegged me in the butt as I was setting up for another photo," said Ross. "I guess it's just one of the many occupational hazards of being a journalist.