Two people were arrested as police struggled to keep the peace while students knucked, bucked and fought Saturday (Oct. 27) during a Harvard Society of Black Scientists and Engineers (HSBSE) step-show after party in the Lowell House dining hall at Harvard University.


The partygoers, who were not Harvard students, were taken into custody for disorderly conduct, according to the Harvard Crimson.


According to the newspaper, fights ensued after the party’s DJ played the Crime Mob hit "Knuck If You Buck."


It was during this time that Northwestern student Jarred M. Watson saw firsthand the change in mood among the partygoers.


"That’s a song where everybody goes wild," he said. "The crowd started touching each other and bumping into each other. Then I saw a whole bunch of people screaming, and I saw people fighting."


Soon after, Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) officers and HSBSE members quickly began to evacuate the crowd, said HSBSE president Devin D. Smith, who added that the DJ was asked to turn off the music and turn on the lights as soon as the fight began.


More than 20 police patrol cars, including six state police cruisers and several Cambridge and HUPD cars, were deployed to the scene as additional brawls broke out in the Lowell courtyard.


Despite efforts to resolve the situation, police continued to have difficulty.


The two people taken into custody were later released without charges, said Cambridge police spokesman Frank T. Pasquarello.


The fights capped off an event that attracted at least 400 guests from Harvard and other colleges, including Boston University, Boston College, Emerson, MIT, and Lesley University.


Although the fights disrupted the night’s festivities, no one was injured, Pasquarello said.