"I grew up with a very positive attitude toward Tupperware," Whalen says. "I think that, with this, we're edging toward a major societal paradigm."

As the party progressed, students wandered in--about 20 in all eventually arrived. But a myriad of motivations compelled them forth to the tower room.

Some came looking for the omnipotent draw of promised free food, some just needed a study break, and others really wanted to buy a few pieces of Tupperware.

Maimonis, a former Spanish teacher, opened the party with a round of introductions, reminiscent of the first day of a new class. This, she says, is a customary Tupperware activity.

To begin, she addressed the misconceptions which she predicted must abound on a college campus regarding the "hipness" of Tupperware.

"This is not your mother's Tupperware," she asserted. "The quality that you know Tupperware for is still the same, but we have changed with the times, changed to suit your needs."

To illustrate her point she brought out Meals in Minutes," a Tupperware-style microwave meal.

As Maimonis bantered with the students, it seemed that, despite their outward flippant attitudes, her message was indeed being carefully considered.

"I didn't really know or care much about Tupperware before--it was such a Donna Reed-type thing," says Mark C. Alonge '96. "But [Maimonis] made it seem sort of worthwhile."

If Maimonis stirred excitement for the plastic products, Krishnaswamy was almost as animated.

"The party I went to this summer was such a mind-altering experience that I felt a need to spread the joy and warmth I found to all Harvard undergraduates," Krishnaswamy says.

He says Tupperware changed his life. "After having shared that classic experience of post-war America, I felt more a part of the community," he says.

Lowell House Senior Tutor Alexandra Barcus, who was also in attendance, called the party "a blast."

With all the glowing words of praise, one might have forgotten that the party was an idea conceived in a corporate boardroom.

Maimonis refused to discuss the profits reaped at the event, instead following the Tupperware tradition of spinning the party as a purely social affair.