More on the Yale Accident
Posted on November 22nd, 2011 in Uncategorized | 8 Comments »
As Harry Lewis points out below, the Times has a good piece looking on the challenges of regulating partying at the Harvard-Yale game, and tailgating in particular. The main difference between Yale and Harvard here? It seems to be that Yale allows U-Hauls and kegs and Harvard does not.
Harvard has tended to have tougher rules; it does not allow kegs at the tailgating, for example. It has also banned U-Haul trucks in recent years because of the damage they were causing to the fields where the tailgating was held. The trucks also caused another problem: Students had a habit of climbing them and turning their roofs into impromptu dance floors.
Meanwhile, the Yale Daily News reported that the U-Haul in question was carrying several kegs. But fraternity brothers of driver Brandon J. Ross insist that Ross had not been drinking before driving the truck.
And the Crimson has a nice piece on victim Nancy Barry, who sounds like she was a lovely person. What a terrible shame.
I can imagine that there will be plenty of legal recriminations from this accident, but I hope that those don’t lead to unthinking policymaking. The Game is a ritual whose customs should be appreciated, if modernized. I can certainly see the case for banning U-Hauls. (A relatively modern development, so far as I know; they weren’t in use for tailgating when I was at Yale in the ’80s.)
And I gather that Yale has instituted a wristband system to designate people who are allowed to drink. What about creating a different-colored wristband for people who volunteer to be designated drivers?
8 Responses
11/22/2011 2:52 pm
I suspect the alcohol culture will turn out to have something to do with this accident in the same way that the gun culture had something to do with the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords. Yes, Loughner was not following orders from Sarah Palin. But it is also no accident that he shot Giffords rather than, say, stabbing her. When the conditions are ripe, bad stuff will sooner or later happen with high likelihood.
I was trying to think of other gatherings involving large numbers of college students-the Head of the Charles, say, or the Boston Marathon, both of which involve lots of young people in confined spaces, lots of vehicular traffic in close proximity, and even some celebrating involving spirituous beverages. Probably there have been a few heart attacks among the older participants, but I don’t remember anything at these events like what happened at this H-Y game, or the near-fatal accident that happened after the 1983 game in New Haven either, for that matter.
There will certainly be a reaction, but I doubt there will be consensus on whether it is an over-reaction or not.
Equally interesting, actually, is whether we will ever see the Yale coach again. Any thoughts on that? No wins against Harvard and, as the Daily Mail deftly puts it, “economical with the truth.”
11/22/2011 4:11 pm
Harry-I must disagree with you on one point: the grammatical acceptability of the phrase “close proximity.”
11/22/2011 4:11 pm
It’s a pet peeve…..
11/22/2011 4:12 pm
Along with the world’s most redundant phrase, “personal belongings”….
11/22/2011 4:43 pm
Guilty as charged ):
11/22/2011 4:47 pm
Thoughts on the Yale coach coming…but I also wonder: Is Harvard amping up its football program? Is it simply getting too good? (C.f. Harvard basketball.)
11/22/2011 5:09 pm
What do you think about Yale hockey? Try to find the players’ birthrates anywhere.
11/22/2011 10:57 pm
Sorry, I meant “birthdates.”
Harvard football has had the advantage of excellent recruiting and excellent coaching for 18 years. Harvard basketball has had the same advantages for the last couple of years. To what do you attribute Yale’s recent hockey success? Your fellow alumni seem to be a little worried about the program.