April 21, 2005 6:29 AM EDT
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Harvard undergraduates are in a lather over a party where students donned bathing suits and danced in a sea of foamy bubbles, only to wake up the next morning with painful rashes.
Seven or eight students who attended the annual “Mather Lather” party at the Mather House residence hall were later treated for skin rashes at Harvard’s infirmary, according to Harvard spokesman Robert Mitchell.
The party, which drew an estimated 600 students last Saturday night, features a foam-making machine that fills the dance floor with suds. The foam apparently contains a chemical additive that keeps revelers from slipping, but can cause rashes if it isn’t properly mixed or washed off soon after exposure.
Harvard freshman Andrew Trombly said he developed rashes on his arms and legs.
“I knew people who had it all over their body and couldn’t get out of bed in the morning,” he said. “Twenty years from now, it will be funny. At the time, it was kind of painful.”