While organizers chose not to cancel the annual No Place Like Penn festivities due to Tuesday's terrorist attacks, headlining comedian Dave Chappelle postponed his performance last night.
Chappelle's sold out stand-up routine -- originally scheduled for tonight in Irvine Auditorium -- has been rescheduled for Oct. 16, as Chappelle is coping with the tragedy in his hometown of New York.
"He wants to be with his wife and kids," SPEC Connaissance Co-Director Samantha Cohen said. "He doesn't feel it would be appropriate to perform at this time."
Organizers, however, believed the weekend should proceed to help students move past the strikes on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
"It's going to be an option for students to return to normalcy," said Kevin Meyers, president of the Social Planning and Events Committee, which organizes No Place Like Penn.
The Y-100 College Tour in Wynn Commons was canceled this afternoon due to other city events dedicated to the victims of the attack, which No Place Like Penn organizers felt were more important.
Nevertheless, all other events are on.
The weekend will begin this afternoon with Activities Day on Locust Walk and the 36th Street Block Party.
"Unless it rains, we're expecting a good turnout," Meyers said.
The weekend will end with hypnotist Tom Deluca's performance at Irvine Auditorium on Sunday night.
Last night, over 200 students -- mostly freshmen -- attended the showing of the movie Grease in Houston Hall, followed by a Sock Hop dance party.
The atmosphere was a welcome change from the current state of affairs -- pink and black balloons bobbed overhead as students lined up for food and drinks.
"It's a good distraction," College freshman Juliette Avigdor said over the din of the opening band act Slicked Up Nines. "It's better to go on with your life. If we stop, it's more of a victory for them."
"What happened was terrible," Wharton freshman Omar Vasquez agreed. "But we have to stay upbeat."
Many students view the No Place Like Penn events this weekend as a means of healing from the horror of Tuesday's attack.
"They need something to keep the Penn community together at a time like this," said Wharton senior Meg Sutula. "We need to keep life going despite this tragedy."
Although Sutula does not plan to attend the events, she feels they are an important chance for new students to bond.
"The freshmen should go," Sutula said. "This is a good opportunity, since recently they've been meeting under such weird circumstances."
"The tragedy touched us all, but at least this shows that we're moving on and getting past what happened," Engineering sophomore Cheryl Cohen agreed.
However, some students felt uncomfortable about celebrating days after such a horrific episode.
"I actually wasn't planning on going to the events anyway," College sophomore Jill Berkin said. "But now, especially, it would seem a little strange to attend social events like this in light of the tragedy."
While SPEC is hoping that No Place Like Penn turnout will be strong, the campus might not be as well-informed about this weekend as in previous years.
"Maybe more people would've known about No Place Like Penn if all this hadn't happened," Sutula said. "Their minds are on other things right now."
