Halloween Weekend Attracts Police Attention

UPDATED: November 3, 2015, at 11:18 p.m.

Police responded to a report of an assault and battery at Annenberg Hall late Saturday night, though it is unclear whether this incident was related to a College-wide Halloween party event.

The Harvard University Police Department and Cambridge Police Department also dealt with a large number of noise complaints involving Harvard students over Halloween weekend, according to HUPD police logs.

“We were prepared for a potential uptick in calls for service over the weekend due to the fact that Halloween did fall on a Saturday this year,” CPD spokesperson Jeremy Warnick said.

Many, though not all, noise complaints involved officially unrecognized social organizations. During what was commonly referred to as “Halloweekend” by students, police officers were dispatched to four of Harvard’s eight historically male final clubs.

The activity at the final clubs comes after a period of relative quiet on Mt. Auburn Street, following increased scrutiny from administrators like University President Drew G. Faust and Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana. The Fox Club accepted a group of junior and senior women into its membership this fall, following the move of the Spee Club to invite women to participate in its punch process for the first time.

For some students, “Halloweekend” began on Thursday night. That evening, the Owl Club, a final club, attracted at least two noise complaints related to loud music between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Holyoke Street, HUPD logs reported. After visits from both HUPD officers and CPD officers, the music was lowered to a “reasonable level,” the logs said.

Later that evening, officers responded to noise complaints at the Delphic and Spee Clubs, two other final clubs. At the Delphic Club, HUPD officers were dispatched to a report of a noise complaint at around 12:10 a.m. and found CPD officers present on arrival.

“Officer… spoke to the individual who was in charge and advised them to shut down the party. The individual stated they were just about to leave the club. Officers waited until all individuals left the club,” HUPD logs reported.

Similarly, at the Spee Club, both CPD and HUPD officers responded to a report of a noise complaint at around 12:30 a.m. After advising that the party needed to be shut down, it took “several attempts” for the club to comply, HUPD logs reported.

On Friday night, HUPD responded to a report of loud noise on campus in Mather House. Officers subsequently located the room and advised the occupants to turn the music down, HUPD logs reported.

Early Saturday morning at around 12:45 a.m., HUPD officers were dispatched to another report of a noise complaint, this time at the A.D. Club, another final club. CPD were again “on scene” when HUPD officers arrived. Though officers “advised the individual who was operating the party to lower noise level,” police logs reported, “the individual decided to shut down the party.” Officers assisted with this process.

On Halloween night itself, when various student groups hosted a College-wide party at Annenberg Hall, there were no reports of noise complaints in the HUPD logs.

—Staff writer Brett Dowling can be reached at brett.dowling@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @brettjd1996.