Samad Hakani, Photography Editor

As the Yale-Harvard football game approaches, students at both universities are united in one feeling: their dissatisfaction with Harvard’s restrictive tailgating policies. 

In October, Harvard Dean of Students Thomas Dunne told the Crimson that Harvard will host a school-sanctioned tailgate and enforce restrictions on non-sanctioned tailgates, which could involve shutting the pop-up events down. 

In comparison, Yale’s policies allow student groups such as Yale fraternities and Harvard final clubs to host tailgates in the parking lot of the Yale Bowl. While students at Harvard and Yale have decried the Harvard restrictions, Harvard administrators have emphasized that their policies are important for student safety. 

Three Yale groups will host tables at the undergraduate tailgate approved by the Harvard administration: the Yale College Council, the Senior Class Council and Timothy Dwight College. The News spoke to the students in charge of each of these tailgates about what organizing their event looked like under the more stringent Harvard tailgating policies. 

“I am aware of the regulations around Harvard’s tailgates, as well as the dismay that both current Harvard and Yale undergraduates have expressed around some of the policies. While I do not know enough to comment on the full reason behind Harvard’s more stringent policies, I understand both sides,” wrote Yale College Council Events Director Brian Zhang ’25, who oversees the YCC’s tailgate. “I am also hopeful that Harvard administrators are hard at work at integrating feedback.” 

Zhang mentioned a 2011 fatal accident at the Yale Bowl that sparked debate surrounding tailgate restrictions. The result was stricter regulations by both universities on vehicles near tailgating locations and alcohol consumption.

Isabel Leka ’25, who is organizing the Senior Class Council tailgate, told the News that Harvard is not allowing alcohol at the Senior Class Council tailgate, which she was hoping to include, “seeing as that’s something that the senior class would appreciate, especially because most of us are above the age of 21.” 

Leka added that she also had difficulty organizing a pizza delivery for the Senior Class Council tailgate because the roads surrounding the tailgating area will be blocked off. However, she has found a way to retrieve the food on foot from a nearby location. 

“To sum it all up, logistically [it] was easy to get in touch with [the Harvard organizers], but there are just some hurdles in terms of getting the materials to where we need them to be, and some of the things that we wanted to implement that we weren’t able to do,” she said. 

Zhang and Leka both said that despite Harvard’s policies, they are excited about their upcoming events. In addition to the Yale-run tables, the Harvard Events Board will host their own tailgate, which will have live music, inflatables, face painting, custom merch, giveaways and food trucks. 

Yalies will be required to show their Yale ID to enter this tailgate. All visitors to any tailgates in the surrounding Harvard Stadium lots must also have a ticket to the actual football game, a regulation that could pose a problem for unlucky Yalies who didn’t secure a ticket through the lottery system yet still plan on heading to Cambridge for the weekend.

Zhang added that while “more informal, individual tailgates” will not be possible this year, the YCC has helped to organize “smaller crossover episodes between Harvard and Yale clubs, from a cappella shows to improv performances” instead. They also collaborated with the First-Year Class Council for today’s school spirit day “to cultivat[e] an enjoyable experience for those who are unable to attend on Yale’s own campus.”

Allen Huang ’26, who organized the Timothy Dwight Tailgate, said that while the process of organizing the TD tailgate through the Harvard administration was “long” and “involved a lot of communication,” he was eventually able to get the event approved successfully and is enthusiastic about it. 

“[Students] can look forward to having a great time with their friends from Yale and Harvard,” Huang said. “I am personally excited to watch Harvard take another L for the third year in a row, as well as having a fun time with my friends.” 

Last year, the Yale football team defeated Harvard with a score of 23-18.