Spring Fling intro marred by low turnout

Only 20 people showed up for the Spring Fling committee's introductory meeting last week, which was far short of the 75 active volunteers that organizers said they need for a successful carnival. Spring Fling Director Jeffrey Anapolsky, a Wharton and College senior, said that "more direct communication is needed" in order to reach more students. Anapolsky said that his organization ran into administrative obstacles when trying to advertise in dormitories and in dining halls. "The University makes it difficult to reach the students," Anapolsky said. He said organizations are prohibited from advertising through Quadrangle intramural mailboxes and sliding fliers under dormitory doors. Anapolsky also said that Dining Services resticts the times when groups can place table tents in the cafeterias. "The people who end up paying for this are the students because they don't find out about as much as they could," Anapolsky added. Kathy Krautter, assistant director of student life, said that the meeting should have been better advertised. "We didn't do as well as we could have with the publicity," SPEC Advisor Krautter said. "We're going to try again." She added that other publicity attempts including flyers, banners and advertisements in The Daily Pennsylvanian were not "effective enough." Krautter also said that there were many people who had expressed interest in coordinating Spring Fling events by signing a form during activities day in September. According to College senior Anne Todd, Social Planning and Events Committee President, a second Spring Fling introductory meeting is planned for this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in room 211 of the Steinberg-Dietrich building. In order to attract more people to the second meeting, students who said they were interested in Spring Fling on Activities Day in September and more than 100 people from last year's committees will be called, Todd said. "It's basically in effect the same meeting," said Todd. "[But this time] we expect a really strong turnout. In the past this has been our largest committee -- people have been very excited about it." Director of Student Life Activities and Facilities Fran Walker said there are dozens of tasks which need to be accomplished for the event, including contracting vendors, securing entertainment, major acts and security. Todd added that there are also positions in fundraising, programming and advertising which are available. "[That is] just the tip of the iceberg," Walker said. "There is [also] a lot of work -- literal work," referring to the various setup and cleanup jobs that must be completed. "It's a great opportunity for leadership," Todd said. "There are so many positions you can really get involved in." Walker said she thinks that student interest in activities across the University is decreasing. "I think there's a lack of interest in doing what students perceive as 'dirty work,' and that's what a lot of Fling involves," she said. "From my overall experience watching student involvement in student activities, the level of time commitments is down across the board. Students are spending more time on their academic work and less time on extra-curricular activities." Walker also said that she does not believe that the popularity of the event has decreased. "I certainly think there is interest in attending Spring Fling -- there always is," she said. "[But,] I don't see a tremendous interest in doing the work."