COLUMN: Flinging It Back

From Charlotte Druckman's "Putting Things Bluntly," Fall '95 From Charlotte Druckman's "Putting Things Bluntly," Fall '95A week ago, we were beginning the festivities for the much awaited, greatly anticipated party to end all parties: Spring Fling. Now, all that remains of this gala are ticket stubs, a few stray empty beer cans, broken glass and pictures of inebriated friends. Moreover, since my goal for being a columnist was to portray various aspects of Penn life, I feel that I am obligated to focus on that feature of this school that students perceive as the apex of the year. And what a climax it is. Of course, everything is funny and exciting when you're drunk. Actually, that's really the only way to survive fling. Normally, the sight of conspicuous clusters of people in sunglasses, flannels, t-shirts and denim hugging each other and sharing cigarettes would not constitute a celebration. But, when you put them in the Quad, add some loud heavy metal bands no one has heard of and break up the music with karate demonstrations, you have something truly spectacular. For two days, regardless of the weather, people pile into the quad dressed for summer, high as kites and way past tipsy. Basically, Spring Fling is one big overblown fraternity party moved outdoors. And don't forget the nightlife. There are block parties, barbecues and Greek life is large and in charge. People stumble from one party to the next, doing more "walks of shame" than they will be able to or wish to recall. Not that this Spring Fling wasn't fun. It was a blast! George Clinton and the Samples came to play for us, Mask & Wig performed, Penn rocked for the homeless and for three days, everyone was in a great mood. But, for most people, it's all a blur. As parties go, this one may seem pretty wild in the eyes of tame northeastern Ivy Leaguers. However -- with a quick reality check -- we might notice that Spring Fling is a bit overrated. It's an exaggeration of what most Penn students do every weekend, and in the grand scheme of universal collegiate life, our fling is another campus' tea party. On the other hand, in comparison to other Ivy League institutions and elitist colleges, it appears that Penn has been labeled a party school. There is definitely some ambivalence on the part of Quakers toward this categorization of our university. In one way, we take on this role with pride, inviting people from all over the country at various colleges to experience our weekend of reveling. Uptight tigers from Princeton attend our wild party along with our neighbors from Drexel who meander over for a cheesesteak. We take a certain amount of satisfaction in knowing that we are just as capable of throwing a crazy bash as we are of going to the library and getting good grades. In fact, many of us probably look down on what we consider our socially inept peers of the Ivy tradition. Along with our enthusiasm and school spirit comes our equally as legendary insecurity. Penn is known for having a chip on its shoulder because it sees itself as less ambitious and intellectual than its competitors. Students at Penn are often cited as feeling unworthy or stupid in relation to graduates of our academic rivals. We often joke about how we are at Penn because our first choice schools would not take us. In light of this self-image, it seems slightly ironic or contradictory that we should emphasize Spring Fling to such an extent. We really have to ask each other what type of message we are sending to ourselves and to the rest of the collegiate world when we advertise fling as the greatest thing our school has to offer. We define the last weekend as the ultimate Penn experience. Many students claim that visiting during Fling made them want to come here. Notice how our admissions department schedules Penn Preview week so that it coincides with Fling, thereby suggesting that the picture we wish to leave potential students with is one of care-free palling around and binge drinking. Taking into account the fact that Fling is over-hyped and that many of us can recall moments of bliss at Penn that were completely unrelated to Spring Fling, we ought to re-evaluate what it is that characterizes our school and makes us love it. The same thing that makes Spring Fling so incredible is something that we can see at football games, on Locust Walk and in the eyes of our alumni. And that is school spirit. Penn is a unique Ivy League school because it allows its students to have their cake and eat it too. We are able to enjoy a full fledged, comprehensive education and enjoy ourselves at the same time. This is not to say that we should not promote Spring Fling. But we should not present it as the epitome or the best of Penn life because that would be selling ourselves short and playing up an unflattering and inaccurate stereotype that we can afford to shed.