In the absence of vuvuzelas, Harvard students have turned to a different option for this year’s Game — thundersticks.
This week, two Harvard sophomores announced that a “Silence Yale” campaign will be selling Harvard-Yale themed noisemakers, in this case, thundersticks. Thundersticks are long, inflatable plastic balloons that when struck together create irritatingly loud noises. According to the students, these thundersticks won’t face the same fate as the vuvuzela: they are inflatable and thus less likely to be confiscated upon entering the stadium.
“A pair [of thundersticks] has destructive physical and aural power,” the Silence Yale campaign’s Facebook page reads. “Yale will not be heard.”
Given that over 500 vuvuzelas were sold last year (including one purchased by the historic Harvard Archives), it seems that thundersticks will be ubiquitous during the Game.
Naturally, Yale has classily opted out of selling obnoxious noise makers. We can just cheer extra loud on Saturday, and feel good about our superior morality.