Fans pray for defeat of Tigers

Dangling inflatable tigers from nooses and sporting "Tiger Death Fest" T-shirts, hundreds of students and alumni flooded College Green Saturday morning in preparation for Penn's slaughter of the Princeton Tigers. Unfortunately, the Quakers lost their Homecoming matchup 22-9, but the Superblock carnival Friday evening and College Green celebration Saturday kept spirits high despite the loss. The events were sponsored by the Social Planning and Events Committee and the Junior Class Board. The carnival ran all day Friday and featured activities including free amusement park rides and tarot card readings at Chats. Students, alumni and their families lined up to participate in sumo wrestling, bungee racing -- where participants ran as far as they could while attached to bungee cords -- and "bouncing boxing" complete with oversized gloves and a trampoline-style boxing ring. Students at the event said they supported SPEC's efforts and enjoyed the weekend. "The carnival shows school spirit -- people getting together," said College and Engineering senior Neil Nag. "I think it's pretty cool." Returning alumnus Shadman Riaz was particularly impressed. "I think it's good that the University's doing something to improve the social lives of the students," he said. But College junior Eddie Park was not as impressed. After stepping off "The Scrambler" in Superblock looking sick, he loudly declared "No wonder this ride is free." Gabriella Davi, co-director of SPEC's Special Events Committee, said she was generally pleased with the event, but complained that SPEC was not allowed to play music during the entire day. "We were only allowed to have one and half hours of amplified sound," the College senior said, explaining that the University administration would not permit amplified sound in Superblock, due to previous noise complaints from high rise residents. Saturday's "Tiger Death Fest," sponsored by the Class Boards, ran from 11 a.m. until game time. Students and alumni were treated to performances by the Penn Band, as well as to music by the Scott Romig Band, a local rock and blues group. Games and activities were scattered across College Green, ranging from a dunk tank and basketball and football tosses to spirit-builders like face-painting. The Class Boards also gave out free popcorn and cotton candy, along with Homecoming buttons. Many student groups were represented at the event, including King's Court/English House, which was selling toast for the game to benefit a local charity, and the Engineering students who had designed and built the Penn Solar Car standing by their creation. But the largest presence at the "Tiger Death Fest" was the alumni and their families. "We wanted to enhance to the spirit of alumni," said Junior Class President Neil Sheth. "Penn and Princeton have had a rivalry for a long time."