Senior Director of Community and Government Relations Mary H. Power said she had not yet spoken with Cambridge officials about the matter, but she noted that her office received a phone call from a member of the licensing commission on Friday.

The city hosted an impromptu hearing, which was attended by several members of the Mather HoCo, Hafrey said.

In a last ditch effort to smooth over the licensing problems Hafrey said he himself went to the licensing office, but he was unable to resolve the issue.

Hafrey stressed that if time had permitted, the controversy likely could have been worked out to everybody’s satisfaction before the formal.

Despite the absense of liquor, Hafrey said the formal would be a success.

“A significant portion of Mather House residents would not be drinking anyway,” he said. “That fact combined with house spirit leads me to believe that people are not terribly upset.”

Brettman agreed that the formal would live up to its promise.

“The average Mather resident is pretty resourceful and will find their own ways of providing themselves with drink and the formal will be nonetheless fun,” he said.

And the Mather HoCo sent an e-mail to the House Saturday night promising to help provide residents with what they needed to “increase Mather spirits.”

—Staff writer Ella A. Hoffman can be reached at hoffman@fas.harvard.edu