Harvard Is One Bus Ticket Away From School Spirit

For all my fellow survivalist neophytes, here’s a three-step guide for what to do when you encounter a bear in the wild.

First, do not run away. You are not fast enough, no matter what they told you when you tried out for the track team. Second, get your bear spray ready. Realize that you don’t own bear spray. What even is that? Third, and most importantly, raise your arms to look large and scream, scream, scream.

Clearly, though, Harvard students have not learned this lesson. While tickets for this year’s Harvard-Brown football game sold out, images suggest a noticeable lack of screaming at the Bears. Brown is one of Harvard’s most spirited rivals, and only an hour’s drive away via I-95. Even with a little rain, why didn’t Harvard fans show up and show out?

It’s an easy fix: If Harvard wants school spirit and students in the stands, the College should focus on getting students to these events. This starts with College-provided transit.

Historically, the Harvard-Brown football game has been capable of overcoming the student body’s traditional athletic apathy. In 2025, Harvard’s matchup against the University of Pennsylvania drew 8,256, and against Cornell University drew 6,644. Last year’s home game against Brown, however, dwarfed these numbers, drawing in a crowd of 16,283.

The will to see the Crimson battle the Bears exists — until you factor in the logistical nightmare of interstate travel.

Transit to this year’s contest was especially challenging. The nor’easter that blew through the region raised risks of slower or suspended service on the MBTA. The game’s Friday evening start time also may have spurred student worries that they would not be able to return home until the morning after the game. Moreover, the match was relocated to Centreville Bank Stadium, a venue nearly three miles away from Brown’s main campus.

Harvard students are busy, and many of us have Saturday morning obligations. Zipcars aren’t cheap, and acquaintances are not always willing hosts. With so many hurdles to jump, it is no surprise most students stay at home.

Contrast this with Harvard’s strong biennial showing in New Haven. Yale is an almost 3-hour drive from Cambridge, nearly three times the length of the trek to Brown, yet students show up in droves. While Harvard-Yale does have more fanfare, the Brown game is also an involved affair (notably featuring the coveted tailgate outside the Dean of Students Office’s purview).

What makes the difference? Harvard-provided shuttles.

Last year, undergraduates could purchase a round-trip shuttle pass to The Game. Once at the stadium, Yale provided regular shuttles to take students from campus to the Yale Bowl. Cold, rainy conditions notwithstanding, the stadium was packed and bleeding with Crimson pride.

Clearly, providing transportation boosts attendance and spirit, and Harvard would be wise to learn this lesson before The Game is played at Fenway Park this year. The DSO announced, however, that only “six or seven” shuttle buses would be in service for the entire student body looking to travel to The Game. The turnout at this year’s Brown game is a clear warning the College is choosing to ignore: If you want people to show up, you have to bring them there.

For any worries about finances, it is not as if the College is always effectively spending on student life to begin with — many students likely still share previous sentiments that College-sponsored events during Yale week sound like “a five-year-old’s birthday party.” Attendance is often sparse at College-sponsored events, and funds would be better spent bringing students to events organized elsewhere.

Ultimately, an investment in transportation to away games is an investment in Harvard’s student culture, pride, and spirit (which could certainly use a boost). By offering transportation to a wider array of sporting events, the College can demonstrate that it is always worth showing up for Harvard.

Whether we’re trying to survive a Bear, Tiger, or Bulldog attack, Harvard-provided transit will help the student section become loud enough to scare off any predator.

Anika Kapoor ’29, a Crimson Editorial comper, is an Economics and Theater, Dance, and Media concentrator in Currier House.