An old Tufts tradition will be resurrected this spring, as the post-Naked Quad Run pancake breakfast will once again be offered on the first night of reading period. The event will be held on April 30 at the Campus Center Commons from 10 p.m. to midnight.
The popular tradition was cancelled in 1998 - when this year's seniors were freshmen - because it had long been plagued by unruly behavior and food fights in the cafeterias. The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate worked to organize the event the following year, but after a single pancake was thrown in Dewick-MacPhie Dining Hall, Director of Dining Services Patti Lee Klos banned the breakfast in subsequent years.
But following efforts by members of the TCU government, Lee Klos agreed to bring it back. Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) Vice-Chair Alison Clarke presented a resolution to the Senate on Feb. 3 asking members to "ensure the existence" of the pancake breakfast, with or without the cooperation of the administration.
"Tufts has few traditions, and I did not want this one to disappear," she said.
Clarke has worked with Lee Klos and Dean of Students Bruce Reitman over the past two months to organize the event.
The Senate agreed last Thursday to co-sponsor the pancake breakfast, and the Office of Student Activities is considering having a jazz band perform during the event. Clarke has also asked the Alumni Council to help her involve alumni in the tradition.
Many students who attended the breakfast in 1999 - then held in Dewick and Carmichael - are excited to hear of its return.
But while students found the event enjoyable, some realized there were negative consequences to the rowdy behavior that often occurred. "I remember feeling very bad for the volunteers [alumni who had come to work at the event] and janitors that were going to have to stay late and clean up," alumnus Joe Ramsey (LA '99) said. "The problem was that people were so drunk that it didn't take long to get out of hand."
Clarke has not yet discussed with the administration the possibility of misconduct at the event. "I hope the student body will not act in a way that causes this to be a necessary conversation," she said.
