“The later party hours will be successful if party hosts would continue to get guests out on time, if there are no disturbances either within the College or outside. Essentially, it’s the same courtesies we would expect if the parties ended at 1:00.”

The possibility that later party hours might disturb Cambridge residents was a particular concern for Quad parties. But Emily M. Mott ’07, who worked the 10:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. Quad shift for the Harvard University Campus Escort Program (HUCEP) Friday night, said that people leaving Quad parties appeared to be under control.

“There were a few groups of people leaving, but they weren’t noisy. There weren’t huge throngs of noisy, drunken people,” Mott said. “Almost everyone went back to the Quad Houses or waited and took the shuttle. Very few people were walking on the streets.”

ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOR

Some hosts said that they felt the increased pressure of setting a good example.

Mahan, who held a party Saturday in his Kirkland room, said he felt obligated to make sure that everything ran smoothly—both for the sake of throwing a good party and because of his role as council president.

“There’s no doubt that it does have a little bit of added significance. That’s why we’ve spent the whole day cleaning up and recycling,” Mahan said. “I did put myself on the line a bit by writing an op-ed about parties and calling on students to be more responsible, so yeah, there was potential for it to be bad. We were trying to be careful to make sure that it went well—we didn’t want to screw it up.”

Zachary L. Bercu ’04, a member of the blocking group in the Pfoho bell tower suite who helped set up the AEPi party there Saturday, said he felt this weekend’s parties had a responsibility to set a standard for the community.

“This is a trial run of 2 a.m. party hours. We want to show it’s important, we can pull it off well, we can pull it off right, and we want to show the city of Cambridge and the Harvard community that it can be done,” Bercu said.

EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS

Christine A. Capone ’06 held a themed party in her Cabot room Friday—encouraging guests to “get in touch with your inner caveman”—in honor of her 20th birthday.

She said that guests stayed noticeably longer at the party because of the extended hours.

“I did feel like there were a bunch of guys who would usually go to a bar that stayed at the party,” Capone said. “There’s no reason to do the bar scene if you’re at a party that you like [with the extended hours] and the bar also closes at 2:00 am.”

Cremarosa, who attended “Caveman Capone,” said that the extended hours would enable hosts to be more creative with their themes.

“People are going to try to put more effort into parties. It will be better for everyone,” he said.