Students began lining up soon after midnight to get their tickets for the Dalai Lama's talk on Sept. 15. Jeff Yip plays catch, while Neil Mehta and August Dietrich (all class of '06) try to nap. (Staff photos by Stephanie Mitchell)

"The early bird catches ... the Dalai Lama" might have been the motto of the hundreds of Harvard students who turned out as early as 1 a.m. Friday for tickets to the Tibetan leader's Sept. 15 appearance at the Memorial Church.

The Holyoke Center ticket office was scheduled to begin distribution of the free tickets at 11 a.m. Fifteen minutes before zero hour the line extended around the block all the way to Mt. Auburn Street, and the students at the head of the line, whose wait had been longest, were starting to get a bit jiggy with excitement.

"We're probably never going to get another chance to see him in person," said Nicholas Josefowitz '05. "His last appearance at Harvard was legendary. He's one of those speakers that people talk about years afterward."

Megan Crowley '05 had been camped out on the concrete floor of the arcade since 1 a.m. Now a bit disheveled and bleary-eyed but still enthusiastic, she straddled her rolled sleeping bag and spoke about her reasons for trading a good night's sleep for admission to the event.

Freshmen pass the time taking photographs and watching "Caddyshack" on a laptop as breakfast is served at Au Bon Pain. Donald Coates, Gilbert Desroches, Brad Calkins, Yaya Wu, Candace Mitchell, Christine Megerdichian, and Joanna Parga were among the first to line up.

"He's an amazing political figure. I'm a big fan of his writings, so I thought, why not seize the opportunity?"

Crowley said she sympathized with the Tibetan people's struggle for independence, but that her interest in what the Dalai Lama had to say went beyond those concerns.

"His message is applicable to other struggles around the world, but also to people who aren't struggling, whatever socioeconomic stage they happen to be in."

Neil Mehta '06 said that his reasons for wanting to take part in the event were both personal and spiritual.

"I'm a Hindu, and a lot of Buddhist thought comes from Hinduism. One of my best friends is a Buddhist, and he's had experiences visiting monasteries in Nepal, and that made me very interested in Buddhism. I've been reading a lot about it recently."

Benjamin Lee '06, who had joined the line at 5 a.m., had complaints about the behavior of some of his peers.

"I just want to say that a lot of people have been cutting in line. It makes me mad because our group has been turning away all our friends. We thought it was wrong to let them in."

Michael Broukhim and Trey Kollmer, both freshmen, had been there since 3 a.m., but their motivation was more lighthearted than most. "We just happened to be out late," said Broukhim, "and we saw some people we knew from the Freshman Outdoor Program, so we joined them. It just seemed like an adventurous thing to do."