Partying and revelry fill campus over Fling

From music acts in the Quad to a pancake breakfast, students enjoyed the weekend's activities. The clouds parted to reveal a shining sun Friday morning, heralding the beginning of Penn's 28th annual Spring Fling. And although the sun did not last the entire weekend, the bright rays were definitely a good Fling omen. In a sea of sunglasses and capri pants, students flooded the Quadrangle in the afternoon hours, anxious to discover what Fling 2000 had in store for them. The theme for this year's fling was "Fling Me Baby One More Time," alluding to the ubiquitous Britney Spears hit. And the light-hearted spirit of the teen pop star certainly seemed to be in the air. "I love the sun, that is all I have to say," College freshman Lisa Snyder exclaimed. Students took advantage of the warm temperature, and spent time sunning themselves on the green in Lower Quad, eating funnel cake and barbeque chicken from the vendors and listening to the performing musical groups. In Upper Quad, students donned huge sumo wrestling costumes, painted their hair wacky colors and climbed a giant inflatable mountain. Over the two-day event, Jon Herrmann, chairman of the Social Planning and Events Committee, estimated that between 7,000 and 10,000 people passed through the Quad gates to partake in the festivities. For freshmen, last weekend marked their inaugural Fling experience. With rumors of past Flings and the highest expectations swirling in their minds, the reviews were largely positive. "It was weird to have a carnival in your dorm," said Frank Wang, an Engineering freshman. "But it is also very cool." The festival did not live up to everyone's expectations, however. After experiencing the campus-wide party herself, College freshman Jasmine Orders said, "Fling is all hype." Still, some students kept going strong on Saturday despite the unwelcome dark clouds and rain that overshadowed the Quad. "It is our last Fling," College senior Bart Riley said. "Locusts and frogs couldn't keep me away." Though the bands and entertainment performed as planned, the turnout for Saturday morning and early afternoon was weaker than on Friday. During band K-Floor's performance in Lower Quad in the early afternoon on Saturday, the band's lead singer beckoned sleepy-eyed students out of their dorm rooms to join them in the rain. "Why don't you all come out of your bedrooms and party with us?" he asked. "It's a little rainy outside but we're having a great time." The rain let up for a bit though, just in time for Mask and Wig's traditional closing show on Saturday afternoon. The biggest crowd of the day -- about 3,000 people -- assembled, filling almost all of the Lower Quad. Mask and Wig entertained the crowd with their customary satirical blend of song and dance. Since last year's nudity was such a big hit, three members of the group decided to bear it all once again this year. The group was forced by SPEC to cut their show short, however, because of some scheduling difficulties encountered during the day. The group was forced to take the stage half an hour later than originally scheduled. The crowd begged for one last song, and the group was happy to oblige with their signature "Tuition" -- a takeoff on the well-known Fiddler on the Roof theme. Fling Co-Chairman Michael Silverstein commented that the scheduling problems were unfortunate, and although they were some initial hard feelings on the part of Mask and Wig, the difficulty was resolved. "In the heat of the moment they were angry, they wanted to perform," said Silverstein, who is also a 34th Street editor. Saturday night, after things had long since quieted in the Quad, throngs headed over to Hamilton Village for a Hawaiian-themed carnival complete with free food, carnival-style games and novelty attractions. The turnout for the evening's activity was record-setting according to Silverstein. Christina Chiew, a College sophomore and Fling carnival chairwoman, estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 people were in attendance. As part of the University's plan to provide non-alcoholic social options for students, there was a great deal more emphasis placed on this year's carnival planning, Silverstein said. And drawing Spring Fling weekend to a close was a midnight pancake breakfast at the Class of 1920 Commons. Hundreds of students turned out from midnight until 3 a.m. to grab a tasty late-night snack before calling it a night.

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