Gisele M. Morey ’04 said that she came up with the idea for the foam party, after she heard of similar events at night clubs. Morey brought up the idea at a HoCo meeting, and it took off from there.
“I thought it would be something different that people would be drawn to,” she said.
Morey added that while the party was crowded, she never felt unsafe. “Harvard throws crowded parties, but this wasn’t any more crowded than a room party—it was just under more soapy, naked circumstances.”
HoCo members said they were pleased with the popular, albeit abbreviated, event—and HoCo treasurer Paul H. Hersch ’04 said last night that they had at least broken even on the event.
“No one has ever seen that many people at a Harvard party before,” Morris said. “It shows that there are a lot of Harvard students who really do like to party, and we hope that we were able to provide that opportunity for them.”
But pre-frosh who came to get lathered on Saturday said their high expectations were dashed by the midnight bust.
“I was really looking forward to Mather yesterday, but now after it’s over, I’m feeling very partial to Yale,” said Patrick McKee, who has been accepted into the Class of 2007.
“It was not scandalous enough for me,” said pre-frosh Matthew A. Butlein, who said he came after viewing the website earlier that day while browsing the Internet, looking for things to do at Harvard over the weekend.
Although initially disappointed by the party, he said it did not change his decision to come to Harvard.
“Where else am I going to go?” he asked.
Current students had mixed reactions to the party.
“Unfortunately the foam only got to two to three feet, and we were hoping for five to six,” Ari D. Brettman ’04 said. But he said that overall, he was pleased with the party. “It set the gold standard for collegiate entertainment.”
Others said they were not so enamored with the evening, and said they thought it might have lasting negative effects.
“The long term ramifications are going to be shocking. It has taught anyHoCo that doing something too grand will be discouraged. The trick now will be to find a mediocre idea,” Maats said.
Other students said they felt that they did not get their money’s worth—and wanted a refund.
“I was annoyed that the police came and broke it up because I was having fun,” Courtney K. Wallace ’06 said. “The word on the street is that there were too many people, and it got out of hand, but then why did HoCo let so many people in? I don’t blame HUPD, I blame HoCo, who are awesome for bringing foam to Harvard, but I was cheated out of two solid hours of fun and kind of want my money back.”
While Morris said that he did not know anything about a refund, Corker said yesterday that “We are working to address people’s concerns.”
—Staff writer Lauren A.E. Schuker can be reached at schuker@fas.harvard.edu.
—Staff writer Jessica E. Vascellaro can be reached at vascell@fas.harvard.edu.