Student speaks out over Harvard University’s annual ‘Incest-Fest’ party

At least one student at Harvard University is expressing outrage over the name of “Incest-Fest,” a hook-up dance to be held at the university’s famous Kirkland House dormitory this winter.

The event, described in the Kirkland House Wikipedia entry, is an annual  “debaucherous dance open only to [male and female] members of the house.”

The Kirkland House (pictured above) will host an “Incest-Fest” party later this Winter.

Harvard’s official student newspaper, The Crimson, also mentions the event in it campus life guide.

“You’ll spend all of Secret Santa week watching underclad men gyrating in the dining hall and figuring out who you’ll hook up with at Incest Fest,” it reads. “[H]ouse life is incredibly close-knit, bordering on downright incestuous.

“But there’s more to Kirkland than raunchy dining hall skits and regrettable hook-ups,” the paper continues.

Junior Samantha Berstler, who is a resident in the Kirkland House however, argued in an op-ed in the The Crimson, that the party’s name is “offensive and insensitive”  because incest is no joking matter.

“The name ‘Incest-Fest’ is not sexy or cute or clever,” wrote Berstle.

Other students commenting responded to Bestle’s criticism, however, suggesting she should lighten up.

“Don’t go and let other people have a sick time getting laid,” wrote an apparent student, Marcus Bunny.

A spokesperson for Harvard University did not provide comment to Campus Reform, despite multiple inquiries via phone and e-mail.

Famous former residents of the Kirkland dorm include Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Follow the author of this article: @oliverdarcy

H/T: The College Fix