Penn students are diverse, but some traditions at the University manage to bring everyone together. Looking back on their time at Penn thus far, these students identified three of their favorite Quaker routines.
Throwing Toast
If students threw toast at a football game at other institutions, they would probably get some strange looks — at Penn, they often get applause.
Throwing toast after the third quarter of home football games has a been a tradition in our stands for roughly 40 years.
The tradition began as a response to the line from the song, "Drink a Highball": “Here’s a toast to dear old Penn.” The actual act of throwing toast began after alcohol was banned from Franklin Field in the 1970s.
College senior Marielle Trubowitsch remembers being fascinated by the toast-throwing tradition at Penn as an incoming freshman.
“I thought it was really funny that people threw toast on the field during games,” she said. “At first I wanted to eat the toast but then had to remind myself to throw it instead.”
Trubowitsch said she would like to see more Penn fans at the games take part in the fun.
“I just wish more people showed up to the games to participate in this tradition,” she said.
Spring Fling
College and Wharton freshman Melissa Iglesias said she loves Penn’s tradition of Spring Fling. Also a tradition with roots in the 1970s, Spring Fling is a weekend of concerts, performances and parties for students. This year, DJ and musician Zedd was the headliner for the concert in Penn Park.
“Fling was so much fun,” Iglesias said. “It was also the perfect way to de-stress before studying for finals.”
College senior Rebecca Brown agrees that Fling is a great way to relax.
“I really love Fling because it’s one of the only times of the year when everyone puts their work aside,” she said.
Hey Day
College junior Catherine Oksas said she enjoyed celebrating Hey Day as a junior this year. Established in 1916, Hey Day is a classic Penn tradition and marks the moment when Penn students officially become seniors.
“Everyone was marching across campus wearing red T-shirts, carrying canes and biting into each other’s hats,” she said.
“Hey Day was truly the biggest expression of school spirit I’ve ever seen at Penn,” Oksas added. “And it lasted almost a full two hours. It was crazy.”
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