Working hard to secure Fling's future

It's that time of year again. Every group on Locust Walk seems to be handing you some kind of flyer in reference to it; people are talking about which of their friends are coming to visit, asking you if someone can crash on your couch -- or floor. There's even that giant banner proclaiming it: "Spring Fling is coming."

Although the buzz on campus has just started in the last couple weeks, for the three of us, Spring Fling has been coming since September. As the SPEC Spring Fling directors, this weekend is the final product of a year's worth of work.

And while planning Spring Fling is an incredible opportunity and experience, there has been a dark cloud hanging over this year's event. In November, the University Council supported holding this year's Fling in the Quadrangle, but not without making it very clear that this year could be the end of Spring Fling as we know it.

"But why? What's wrong with Fling?" you ask. On the surface, nothing at all. Spring Fling is a two-day carnival in the Quad with two stages' worth of performances, student and professional vendors and inflatable games. As if that's not enough to do in one weekend, there's the concert Friday night in Wynn Commons and the free carnival Saturday on College Green. It's a chance to relax and hang out with all of your friends before you have to gear up for finals. Plus, it gives us all an excuse to be in the Quad, the one place on this campus where you just might forget that you're in the middle of Philadelphia.

The problem with Spring Fling is clearly not the activities themselves; it's the extreme "go hard or go home" culture which surrounds the event. For many students, Spring Fling is the one weekend where all bets are off. It has become an excuse to test the limits, to party harder than any other weekend of the year. As college students, we've all seen what can happen when one person goes too far. And when, instead of one person, you have the better part of the undergraduate population, it doesn't take much imagination to foresee the potential for disaster.

SPEC, the UA and various student groups have done everything in their power to emphasize the importance of safety and to try and curb this dangerous culture. Together with the administration, these groups have increased security and expanded bag checks in the Quad, collaborated on a campaign on Locust Walk urging students to enjoy Fling responsibly and run a series of ads in The Daily Pennsylvanian in the past weeks highlighting all of the weekend's activities. All of these groups hope that their measures will put us well on our way to a safer Fling, but they will only be effective with your support.

You have already shown us your willingness to take charge. Thanks to the nearly 200 students who have volunteered their time, we have been able to expand last year's Team Sober into FlingSafe, a student-led initiative designed to promote safe and responsible behavior as well as to diffuse problematic situations before they escalate. But all this work will be for nothing if the actual behavior at Fling does not change.

So what will you do this weekend? Will you do your part to preserve one of our favorite traditions? We challenge you, the Penn student body, to rise to the occasion. The administration has clearly stated that the future of Spring Fling depends on your behavior this year. This weekend, let's bring the focus back to the event itself. Have fun, but be responsible. Do your part to change the culture of Spring Fling so that the tradition can continue.

We have done our part to save Fling. Now it's up to you.

Guest columnists Jake Chanin, Makeda Kefale and Anna Pearce are the SPEC Spring Fling co-directors. Their e-mail addresses are jmchanin@sas.upenn.edu, mkefale@sas.upenn.edu and agp@sas.upenn.edu.

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