Brian J. Hayes pretends to streak onstage during the College's Class Day exercises yesterday.

With some help from comedian and actor Will Ferrell, students and faculty brightened an otherwise overcast Yard yesterday with nostalgic and occasionally humorous Class Day speeches, entertaining throngs of seniors with their family and friends.

“Say Harvard! Say oh-three,” First Marshal Krishnan Subrahmanian ’03 rapped over audience cheers, spoofing hip-hop artist 50 Cent. “We’re going to party like it’s your Class Day.”

The cheers escalated in volume when Ferrell danced onto the stage, lip-syncing Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration!”

Sporting a nautical outfit with a polka-dotted ascot and docksiders, the Ferrell’s ensemble was completed by a sailor’s hat perched atop his curly brown hair.

Apparently confused, he stopped in from the microphone and asked, “This is not the Worcester, Mass. boat show, is it?”

But after his initial confusion over where he was, Ferrell got down to business.

“I’m not going to stand up here and try to be funny,” he said.

Painting a picture of life in the world according to Ferrell, he told the audience “I’m going to give it to you straight.”

But “straight,” for Ferrell meant goofy.

“You’re living in a fantasy,” he said. “You will enter a world of hypocrisy…where your limo to the airport is a half an hour late…and it’s a Lincoln Town car.”

Ferrell, who attended the University of Southern California, took some jabs at life at Harvard.

“Damn you, Harvard, damn you! I’m not one of you…I graduated from the University of Life,” he moaned, gesticulating wildly. “Our colors were black and blue.”

Unlike recent years’ Class Day speakers—including Al Franken ’73 and Conan O’Brien ’85—Ferrell did not have Harvard memories on which to pontificate.

“I had to start from scratch,” he said at a press conference after the speech. “I couldn’t relate past stories. I had to approach from a different angle: really silly.”Despite its educational background, he said, he had faith in the Class of 2003, whom he called “the most talented group of sexual beings.” And he expressed confidence that they would go on to professions of the utmost importance.

“Four of you will go on to major careers in the porno industry,” he deadpanned. “I’m not trying to be funny. It’s just a statistical fact.”