For most students, spring break comes as a vacation from a month's worth of midterms, papers and summer internship applications.
For Penn seniors, however, it comes as a vacation from a month of constant partying.
Smokey Joe's, where FebClub begins and ends, was packed last night as seniors gathered to celebrate the last night of a month of daily senior events that included nights at clubs, parties and shows.
"The month of February definitely flew by," said Nursing senior Carolyn Weiss.
Overall, the senior class seemed to be enthusiastic about the events: Wharton senior and class president Andrew Kaplan said a number of venues the class board worked with told them that participation was "substantially greater than in previous years."
Kaplan attributed increased attendance to the fact that, each year, classes benefit from the excitement of the seniors who came before them.
He added that, during the first two weeks of the month, an average of 350 to 400 people attended each event. During the second half of the month, that number dropped to 250 to 300 people.
"I was only motivated in the beginning," said College and Wharton senior Mark Disston. "The second half of the month, I got lazy."
Other seniors said that the month of partying took its toll, citing midterms and early clinicals for nursing students as factors that brought their attendance down.
Still, about 91 seniors attended at least 25 events, earning them a spot on the plaque on the wall of Smokey Joe's.
"It gets better every year," said Smokey Joe's owner Paul Ryan. "I think overall they had a wide variety of places and a lot of different types of activities."
Ryan added that Smokes will continue to host the beginning and end of FebClub every year.
While the senior class did a lot of advertising for the event, it was really "a matter of who you [went] with," said College senior Kate Wallis.
Together, Wallis, Weiss and their friend, College senior Alison Weiss, all made the 25-event cutoff.
But for those whose friends did not participate in FebClub, the event was somewhat of a bust.
"The people who usually show up at FebClub are not the people I usually hang out with," said College senior Alex Staffier.
He added that, as a lacrosse player, his busy schedule kept him away from many of the events.
Others said that they enjoyed seeing people they may not have seen since freshman year.
Wharton senior Jenny Lin said FebClub was "kind of like NSO to end . you're meeting everyone for the second time around."
The venues who hosted FebClub events said they thought the events were a hit.
Mad River bar and grille manager Mike Kearney said that all of their past parties with Penn students have always been successful, and that Mad River "would love to have any party that the senior class wanted to throw here."
Many students cited Mad River as one of their favorite events. Other favorites included Lucy's Hat Shop and the Marathon Downtown party.
FebClub also contributed to increased student attendance at the "Clash of the Classes" event that took place during the Feb. 9 basketball game against Dartmouth. Penn Athletics Marketing Coordinator Brian Head said that, of the 700 tickets sold, 352 went to seniors.
"FebClub was an important part of its success," he added.
"It's going to be a really wonderful way to remember Penn," said Alison Weiss.
