Harvard Tries to Prank Yale, Fails

Photo via Associated Press

Last year, Harvard students won the Internet when they traveled to Connecticut and put on some Yale gear, and then proceeded to give college tours to unsuspecting strangers as part of a prank on their longtime collegiate rivals. They later posted a video of the gag, which went viral, casting a shadow of shame over the Yale community for falling prey to their antics.

This year the same group of Harvard students—who collectively go by the moniker “On Harvard Time”—were foiled when they returned to the campus in an attempt to pull another one over on the Yalies, according to the Yale Daily News.

“Harvard students gathered on Beinecke Plaza Monday afternoon to protest Yale football and cause general confusion,” the paper said. “The mock protest challenged the administration to divest from athletics in order to spend more money on various academic departments. The group then moved throughout campus, posing as Yale students and hosting satirical video interviews.”

Unfortunately for the Harvard students behind the stunt, some people at the New Haven school noticed the abundance of Yale-themed garments being worn by the “protesters.” Understanding the school’s general appreciation for the football program—no one would walk around waving “God Hates Football” signs, apparently—something didn’t seem right, and students from the school took to Facebook to warn the community that the Crimson were in enemy territory.

“Though the Harvard students had exchanged Crimson for Yale blue, Yalies were not fooled,” the paper said.

The would-be prank comes ahead of The Game, this year on November 22, when Yale visits Harvard to prove whose football squad packs as much punch as their classmates do intellect. The Crimson are the defending champions, and remain undefeated in the Ivy League this season.

The prank war, which Harvard seems to have lost this time (unless there’s more in store), is part of a long-standing tradition shared between the two Ivy League schools. In 2004, Yale students pretended to be part of a Harvard pep squad and handed out large pieces of construction paper to Crimson fans, telling them when held up in the correct order that they’d spell out “Go Harvard.” What they really spelled out, however, was “We Suck.”