City denies permit for Skimmer

Citing concerns about underage alcohol use, the Fairmount Park Commission denied the Junior class' initial request. In keeping with a rocky history that forced its hiatus for 26 years, Skimmer Day is again in question due to city concerns over raucous behavior and underage drinking. Student leaders recently confirmed that their request for a special events permit to hold Skimmer on the banks of the Schuylkill River April 10 has been denied by city officials. The Junior Class Board said it intends to appeal that decision. According to Kevin Feeley, a spokesperson for Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, the city is having second thoughts about allowing the event to proceed, due primarily to concerns about underage drinking. "The Fairmount Park Commission has a number of concerns based on the fact that there was underage drinking and a lot of rowdy behavior [last year]," Feeley said. "[The Commission is asking] essentially the sort of responsible behavior that the city or any other agency would demand of anyone else who wants a permit." Junior Class President Lisa Marshall said, "We're going to do everything we can to work with the city to meet whatever requirements they set [in order] to allow us to obtain a permit for Skimmer." And Junior Class advisor Rodney Robinson, the associate director of the Office of Student Life, said he has contacted Joseph Callen -- the official with the Fairmount Parks Commission who denied the original request -- to ask for a written explanation of the denial. Callen is on vacation this week and was unavailable for comment, but a Fairmount Park employee said that while there is no formal appeal process, the Junior Class can request that its permit application be reconsidered. "We were planning to provide more activities this year to deter underage drinking," Marshall said. "I had some people comment to me last year that all there was to do was drink." Feeley said the city and the Junior Class Board would have to establish ground rules for the event to go on as planned. "As an absolute precondition, there has to be some rules established on behavior and prohibitions against underage drinking," Feeley said. "We simply can't allow it." Marshall said she is interested in Callen's suggestions to decrease underage drinking at the event. One of the major problems, Marshall acknowledged, is that students come to Skimmer with open containers, making it hard to control underage drinking. Event organizers said they are continuing to plan activities for April 10. Current plans include performances by student groups, tents -- which may feature a masseuse, a caricature artist and a fortune teller -- and free food. Organizers anticipate that approximately 5,000 students would attend the event, although they said the day's weather would affect turnout. "We want to make sure that this tradition continues for Penn students," Marshall said. "It was great that [Senior Class President] Sarah [Gleit] brought it back last year and I'd like to see it continue. I'm confident that it will continue." Debuting in 1949, the event has long been marked by raucous behavior. In 1963, several administrators were assaulted and the wife of an assistant dean was knocked to the ground by students and trampled. After a concert that Saturday night at Franklin Field about 500 students broke into a brawl, tearing down bandstands and setting several bonfires. A Volvo was also pushed into the Schuylkill River. The event was then banned for a short time and resurfaced in 1965, due to the efforts of then-Penn undergraduate Rendell. In 1972, the event was banned by both the University and the City of Philadelphia after students allegedly injected oranges with 200-proof grain alcohol and swam alongside the men's crew boats. Skimmer was held for the first time in over a quarter-century last year.