CAMPUS BRIEFS: Friday, December 5, 1997

Penn student groups gear up for Winter Fest The Tangible Change committee, in collaboration with over a dozen student groups, will turn the University into a winter wonderland for this weekend's Winter Fest celebration. Undergraduate Assembly Student Life Committee Chairperson Dan Kryzanowski said his group decided to participate in planning the event because "it's pretty depressing here in the holiday season." "People want to relax because they're going to be feeling stressed in the next two weeks," the Wharton sophomore said. The festivities begin this morning on the Walk with performances by interfaith and Performing Arts Council groups, menorah-making and free cider, along with other holiday treats. Tomorrow, the freshman class board will host a semiformal for the Class of 2001 at the Doubletree Hotel in Center City. And on Sunday, the Special Planning and Events Committee will sponsor an ice skating party at the Blue Cross River Rink on Delaware Avenue. Decorations on the Walk include ice sculptures, an idea borrowed from Dartmouth College's annual winter celebration. "I think the ice sculpture will be a nice new tradition for Penn," said UA Vice Chairperson Samara Barend, who heads the Tangible Change committee. "That's kind of unique for us." Winter Fest began last year, but on a much smaller scale: the Walk was decorated with ribbons, and cookies and cider were distributed one day during reading days. UA member Joshua Cohen, a College freshman, was pleased to see the various student groups cooperating to plan the festival, following the Tangible Change committee's initiative. "It's one of my first big events as a freshman," Cohen said. "It was a group effort -- not just the UA and not just the interfaith groups. It was a lot of people getting together." Both Cohen and Barend look forward to making people smile today. "It might seem like a small thing -- decorating the campus, giving out free food, ice-sculpturing -- but it's really a huge thing," Barend said. "It makes people happy. The little things make a difference... and these type of things are often overlooked." In the case of rain, all activities will be postponed until Monday. -- Shirley Zilberstein