Seniors bid farewell to Feb Club festivities

Hundreds of seniors gathered at Smokey Joe's Friday night to mark the end of the annual month-long celebration that is Feb Club.

A chance for seniors to attend events on campus and throughout Philadelphia together, Feb Club has expanded since it took on its current form in 2004 of having multiple events during the month, Wharton senior and class president Puneet Singh said.

This year was the first in which multiple events were planned on many days, including newer and more cultural events such as trips to various museums. A "surprise event" at the Triumph bar downtown also took place on Feb. 28 to celebrate 2008 as a leap year.

"It's a great bonding experience for the whole class, and you get to reconnect with a lot of people," said Smoke's owner Paul Ryan.

Ryan described Smoke's as a good beginning and ending point for Feb Club because "everyone knows what it is, and it's not populated by a particular group of students."

"I'm surprised how many people I haven't seen since living with them freshman year I've seen this past month - that's the best part," said College senior Sam Cohn.

"It's kind of like NSO all over again, except we know what we're doing," Engineering senior Lindsay Pordon said.

Students received a stamp for each event they attended, and, per tradition, seniors who went to a total of at least 29 events will have their names engraved on a plaque at Smoke's. The class board is still in the process of counting stamps, but Singh estimated that 15 to 30 students would make the plaque.

College senior Erica Denhoff, who racked up a total of 29 events, said she was looking forward to seeing her name at Smoke's "when we come back for homecoming" as alumni.

Wharton and Engineering senior George Lin, who also attended 29 events, agreed. "Plus, it's an excuse to go to every bar in Philly," he said.

Favorite events among students varied, including traditional ones like opening and closing night at Smoke's to more unconventional ones like an evening at University Arcade.

The response to this year's increase in off-campus events in downtown Philly like the Black Sheep club was also mixed.

"At first it was annoying, but it actually made me see a lot more of different Philly neighborhoods," College senior Gisela Garrett said.

Others cited accessibility as an issue that was eased with on-campus events.

"It's hard to get the senior class together in one place, especially if it's not nearby," Wharton and College senior Saurabh Bajpai said.

Students also mentioned potential improvements that could be made for next year, such as providing Penn transit buses or other transportation for events downtown.

Either way, "Feb Club brings out a lot of people who don't usually come out to such events," said Mark K., - who did not wish to provide his last name - a bartender at Smoke's and a former Penn graduate student.

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