Food, free hats and well-known faces drew members of the Class of 2007 to Irvine Auditorium for an informative session on Penn history and alumni donations.
The session, called "High Ball to Hey Day: The Penn Experience," featured University President Amy Gutmann, Board of Trustees Chairman James S. Riepe and University Archivist Mark Lloyd.
Riepe recalled his days as a football player and Class of '65 Wharton graduate and thanked a student who had helped him prepare for a tough political science test -- College graduate and Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell.
Lloyd traced the University's evolution from a two-building campus on 4th and Arch streets and listed the origins of some Penn traditions, including toast throwing, Commencement walk and Hey Day.
Many students were unsure about the purpose of Hey Day.
"It's a day when juniors take bites out of each others' styrofoam hats," Engineering sophomore Mike Persson said.
Others were intrigued by the University archivist's presentation on Penn history and trivia.
"It was interesting to hear that the first provost of the University [Rev. William Smith] had pledged allegiance to the King of England to keep the University going," College sophomore J.T. Stinson said.
The provost was imprisoned for slandering the Pennsylvania Assembly, and taught classes from his jail cell until freed by King George IV.
Speakers used such historical anecdotes to emphasize Penn's distinguished past.
"Without knowledge and without history, we are just a moment in time," said Riepe.
Riepe encouraged the Class of 2007 to remain involved in Penn after graduation through alumni donations, noting that tuition covers one-third of the total cost of a Penn education.
He added that Penn only ranks 66th among universities in terms of endowment per capita, "which is astonishing for a school of this caliber."
The evening closed with a question and answer session and a buffet dinner.
"I think I'll go home and practice [eating hats] right now," added Persson. "It's important to start early."
