Saturday evening at the Hilton Inn at Penn, Daily Pennsylvanian staff members and alumni gathered with their family and friends to celebrate the publication's annual banquet.
The event, which marked the official installment of the 120th Board of Editors and Managers, witnessed a slew of familiar sights: a speech by outgoing University President Judith Rodin, a thorough program of speakers and annual awards and, perhaps most importantly, the obligatory open bars.
After the cocktail hour, which effectively loosened the crowd, attendees entered the ballroom for the evening program.
The keynote speaker was Andrew Kirtzman, a former DP executive editor. Kirtzman is the author of a 1999 biography, Rudy Giuliani: Emperor of the City, and now works for WCBS in New York as a news anchor. Kirtzman came to WCBS from NY1, a local news network. His loyalty to the Penn paper was apparent.
"When people ask me where I went to school, I tell them that I graduated from The Daily Pennsylvanian," Kirtzman said.
Kirtzman also emphasized the superiority of journalism as a career.
"There is only one profession that is centered solely around the search for truth, and that is ours," Kirtzman said.
Newly inducted Executive Editor Christopher George -- known as the "Freight Train" to his closest friends -- acknowledged that "we have a lot of power at the DP, and with it comes responsibility."
George is confident about making 2004 a successful year.
"We'll meet and surpass the expectations set for us," he promised. "When the big news stories come, we'll be ready."
After speeches, annual awards were presented by department. The evening's program then concluded with members of the 119th and 120th board members gathering onstage.
As attendees exited the ballroom, rap music could be heard blasting from the adjacent Regents room. The bars, now re-opened, slowly helped otherwise hesitant dancers onto the floor.
Attendees gawked as Photo Editor Phil Leff danced atop the DJ table.
"All I'm saying was that he was wearing a kilt," Sports Editor Jeff Shafer noted. "As a man of Irish descent, I resented the kilt."
Phil Leff, who "enjoyed himself" at the banquet, justified his antics.
"It's not often with my psychotic schedule that I get to let loose in front of a lot of people," Leff said. "I appreciated that."
Advertising Adviser David Graham "had a good time. He got his money's worth," Sports Editor Ryan Howard said. And Copy Editor Michael Gertner "did not know how to wear a bow tie."
Later, Shafer offered that, "Managing Editor Haley Shapley took full advantage of the open bar."
Shapley, indignant, denied the claim. "I do not think that drinking one orange juice -- just orange juice -- constitutes taking full advantage of the open bar."
And perhaps most importantly, the infamous J. Gordon Spector memorial random hook-up award goes to a former photo editor and her former charge, narrowly avoiding a triangle with the DP's finest athlete.
