Penn 'does the right Fling' in 1999

LCE, weather fail to keep students from 'Fling'ing. Neither rain nor clouds nor a high rise fire could keep Penn students from enjoying their seasonal rite: Spring Fling. Despite being marred by adverse natural conditions and the heated controversy surrounding the University's more stringent alcohol policy, the festive atmosphere of the 27th annual Fling let itself loose on campus Saturday with a vengeance. Friday, however, was a different story, with many saying it was the cold and stormy weather which caused students to remain at home. Still, the usual Fling Friday afternoon rush of students -- retreating from their classes to the Quadrangle -- instead merely trickled through the gauntlet of yellow-jacketed security guards. And the normally bustling halls of Butcher and Speakman were quieter than during a vacation period. Nursing junior Lindsay Steele added that "it's a lot more quiet than last year. It doesn't seem like everyone is coming out." Yet those responsible for the event chalked it up to tradition. "Every Friday during Spring Fling has to suck," said Social Planning and Events Committee Spring Fling Tri-Director Bryan Grossman, a College junior. "It has rained the passed few years." "God is sending an omen that Penn is not supposed to be dry," added College freshman Alexandra Schopf, as the storm clouds thundered in late Friday afternoon. However, despite the rain -- which caused most people to leave early and some musical acts to be canceled -- the majority who did attend said they had a good time. Some back-flipped onto a velcro-padded wall, sparred with their friends wearing over-sized, inflated boxing gloves or got "high" on a bungie apparatus. Others created their own fun by slip-and-sliding on the Lower Quad green as the rain poured down. "Penn is definitely not dry," College freshman Raluca Ioanid said. "I am obviously piss drunk and soaking wet." And when the sun pierced through on Saturday afternoon, large groups of students flocked to the muddy Quad to take in an a cappella concert or listen to the wide variety of bands that hit the stages in upper and lower Quad. Alcohol -- or the lack thereof -- certainly played a role in this year's festivities. Fling organizers said they were trying to encourage "responsible flinging" through the theme of this year's event, "Do the Right Fling." In the Quad, like the rest of campus, officials tried to deter students from drinking, with security guards searching students for alcohol-filled containers at the gates. Guards also searched students' backpacks and packages throughout the end of the week, but many freshmen and some upperclassmen managed to smuggle in alcoholic beverages early last week. And while police officers and agents from the state's Liquor Control Enforcement bureau wandered throughout campus, they handed out just 16 citations. One student called Penn a "police state," noting how police were busting up parties on Baltimore Avenue and Pine Street. But College freshman Rob Levy said, "The whole alcohol thing was a joke. The cops were around, but they were not busting people." Still, most agreed that the alcohol issue did change Fling's atmosphere."The whole alcohol policy has everyone scared," College junior Benjamin Grinberg noted. In the past, "people walked around drunk and with bottles. Here, you can't do that." Incoming Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson and College junior Michael Silver added that the administration's threat of strict enforcement of the alcohol policies led some to remain sober but caused others to drink at off-campus houses later in the day. SPEC Spring Fling Tri-Director Adam Tritt agreed. "I don't think it affected the official parts of Fling," the Engineering senior said. "But it did impact where people went and what they did afterwards." Still, SPEC Spring Fling Evening Entertainment Coordinator Marci Belen, a College senior, said dry events sponsored by the University were well attended. She estimated that more than 1,000 students stopped by various activity tents Saturday night in Hamilton Village -- before the event was broken up by an unexpected fire on the 11th floor of Hamilton House. A post-concert barbeque on College Green, organized by the Tangible Change Committee, was so well attended that students had to shove their way to the front of the line in order to get food. And while a smaller number of students stopped by Gimbel Gymnasium for free equipment use, organizers said they came out in larger numbers for the late-night pancake breakfast at the Class of 1920 Commons.