Hairy chests sporting lacy bras, throats ringed with studded collars and bodies thinly veiled in body paint abounded for the night, Harvard had a wild party scene.

Hundreds of students strained into Adams House for its second annual Halloween masquerade grade last October and say its proof that Harvard knows how to party.

"We didn't have any drinks, not even water," says Adams House Committee Chair Daniel C. DiCiccio '93. "But hundreds of people came and had a great time."

DiCiccio says Adams, Eliot and Dunster, which sponsored the party, spared no expense or time on the costume party renting even a fog machine to create a club atmosphere.

He attributed the party's success to its campus wide appeal.

"Many of the people acting strangely or dressed in outrageous costumes don't actually live in Adams Houses.

But the masquerade to be the exception rather than the rule when it comes to party traditions at Harvard.

Apart from the occasional Undergraduate Council sponsored event or final club bash, much of Harvard's traditional party scene seems to be relegated to smoky moms in packed bars or listless gatherings around a keg of beer, DiCiccio says.

"This kind of party is care," says DiCiccio. "Most students are too stressed out with classes and exams. They don't want to spend the time or energy to plan big parties."

'Most students don't want to spend the time or energy to plan big parties.'

Daniel C. DiCiccio '93

Night of Decadence

Clearly, campus-wide blow-out parties are not Harvard's area of expertise.

"Most parties on campus aren't very creative," says DiCiccio. "They just buy a keg, and no one comes."

But that's not the case at many other schools.