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The seniors have found a way to make the most out of the shortest month of the year: Feb Club.
The month-long celebration is a seniors-only series of social activities, which occur at least daily - and sometimes twice-daily - throughout February. Events take place everywhere from bars to sporting arenas to campus productions like the Mask and Wig show.
Participants in the club receive prizes - like entry in a raffle, a flask or their name on a plaque in Smokey Joe's - for their level of participation.
"The flask is going to be very cool and very useful," said College senior Katie Cowling.
College senior Brett Perlmutter, the senior class president, said the majority of the class participates in Feb Club for a variety of reasons. Perlmutter believes that many see the club as a way to meet new people or use it as an excuse to get out of the house, even in the cold weather.
"It's one of the only times you can get away with doing something like this before the real world starts," added Perlmutter.
But for the still-under-21 crowd, and for people whose religious affiliations prevent them from going out every night, class vice president and College senior Anthony Maggio has developed a new initiative that allows those students to still be in the running for all the best prizes.
The senior class council implemented an alternative breakdown of points for people with extenuating circumstances.
Students were given the opportunity to e-mail explanations of why they needed any number of absences to the so-called "Feb Club Guru."
Though many seniors did not know about this initiative, those who did greatly appreciate it.
The initiative "puts you on an even playing field with the rest of the seniors," said College senior Ariella Pratzer. She explained that it is useful for the observant Jewish community at Penn, who cannot get to anything downtown on Friday nights or Saturday afternoons.
And though Engineering senior Maddy Yasner is not particularly competitive about the prizes, she still contacted the Guru for point exceptions both out of a sense of curiosity and "so that the other students have another voice supporting them."
Many have already missed a night, because Sunday night's line at Smokes, the traditional starting place for Feb Club events, was too long. Perlmutter estimated that over 800 people came throughout the night. "I'm doing my best to participate and get all my stamps," said Perlmutter, "but my real goal is to still be standing by March 1st."
