Art imitating life? 'Skit Night' in DuBois examines life at U.

Actually, the scenes described above were all part of Skit Night at DuBois College House, which took place Friday night, part of the first weekend of events in this year's Penn p.m. program. Penn p.m., an initiative of the Office of College Houses and Academic Services, is part of a University-wide movement to provide broader alternatives to drinking on campus. The program has begun the school year with a popular start, also featuring events such as Thursday night's swing dancing in McClelland Hall and an Open Mic Night in Hamilton College House on Saturday night. While Friday's event was designed to have some educational content, most of the 200 or so students who attended caught themselves laughing at the energetic performances of their housemates. Each wing, consisting of about 20 to 25 students, in DuBois designed and performed its own skit. Topics ranged from the serious -- such as drinking and peer pressure -- to the light-hearted, as one group emphasized the importance of friends. But all of the skits were humorous, while still presenting a general moral. It was the humor that seemed to keep the audience enthused. "[The event] brings the dorm together and allows people to practice leadership among others," said College junior Shamika Jones, among those performing at Skit Night. While this is the first year Skit Night has been integrated into the Penn p.m. program, it has been held in Dubois for several years. DuBois House Dean Sonia Elliott described the event as a "fun dose of preventative medicine." Elliott also thought the events brought students in the individual wings closer together and helped freshmen make an easier transition into college life. When asked if she or any of the house's graduate advisors had set rules governing content in the skit, Elliott said only "general guidelines" had been given to the students. Alton Strange, a graduate advisor in Dubois and a student in the Graduate School of Education, called Skit Night a "passing on the knowledge from upperclassmen to the new freshmen." Strange and several other GAs performed a skit relating to drinking. Although each skit was performed with obviously different periods of rehearsal, Michelle Gittens, a College freshman, said she had rehearsed her skit with her wing for about two days. Gittens found the skit had "helped shy people meet the others in [her] wing."