Primal Scream (Harvard)
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Primal Scream is a tradition at Harvard University. At midnight on the last night of reading period and before final exams begin, students streak through the Old Yard. The streakers begin in the north end of The Yard and generally make two laps around. This is done both semesters, even during New England winters.
Some of the streakers will 'dress up' in capes and masks, or top hat and tails, but their genitalia are still exposed. The walkways through which students run are lined with spectators and the Harvard University Band plays beforehand to excite the crowd.
Before it became a "night when the whole student body comes together to gawk at just that"[1] it was a night that with a closer association to its name. Beginning in the 1960's students would congregate in the Yard or open their windows and just yell for 10 minutes. It was designed as a way to release stress. By the 1990's, the streaking aspect of the evening had become prominent.
While the records are not entirely clear, it appears as though when Charles Adams, brother of John Quincy Adams, was a student at Harvard he and a few friends were disciplined for getting drunk and streaking naked across The Yard. He was later readmitted. [2]
References
- ^ Thompson, A. Haven (2006). Primal Scream: An Abbreviated History. Retrieved 2006-05-19.
- ^ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/adams/peopleevents/p_adamskids.html
See also
External links
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