Seniors will raise one last glass on Hey Day

This Hey Day, the Class of 2009 will greet the current juniors not with condiments but with a raised glass.

The Senior and Junior Class Boards have established what they hope will become a new tradition with the "Final Toast," an event that aims to welcome the outgoing seniors into the alumni community while at the same time celebrating the incoming seniors.

The event, which will be held on April 24 from 1-4 p.m. in conjunction with Hey Day, will include live music, food and drinks on the Class of 1972 Terrace behind the Sweeten Alumni House and the northwestern section of College Green. Those seniors who sign a pledge committing to safe behavior will be permitted to attend.

The Class of 2009 will then salute the junior class from the Terrace and College Green - similar to how the seniors used to toast the juniors in past tradition - as they march down Locust Walk.

"This is the initial step in welcoming the Class of 2009 into the alumni community," Senior Class President Brett Perlmutter said. "It's a great opportunity to create a new tradition."

The event will be catered and will serve free alcohol for those seniors with wristbands.

Perlmutter acknowledged the support the Senior and Junior Class Boards have received from outside sources in making both Final Toast and this year's Hey Day possible, including Alumni Relations and Penn Traditions, the Office of the Vice Provost for University Life, the Office of Student Life, the Council of Undergraduate Deans, Penn Police, the Office of Health Education, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, the Undergraduate Assembly and Penn President Amy Gutmann.

"The event is more upscale," Perlmutter described. "It's a sign of the trust that the University has put in the senior class."

According to VPUL Associate Vice Provost for Student Affairs Ajay Nair, the groups involved in the collaboration intend to create both an engaging experience and a new tradition for the senior class.

"Throughout, the emphasis from all has been to ensure a safe and positive celebration that benefits Penn and its students," he explained in an e-mail.

Executive Director of Alumni Relations Elise Betz said this year's Senior Class Board is in its fourth year of working closely with the Penn Traditions Program - managed by Development and Alumni Relations - to create this event.

"We have always talked about doing some tradition with the seniors to welcome them into the alumni community," she explained.

While Hey Day itself is funded by the Junior Class Board, Nair clarified that funding for Final Toast comes from a collaboration of Alumni Relations and Penn Traditions, the UA, the class boards and VPUL.

"We're hoping that this event becomes a Penn tradition so that every year the seniors will be able to look forward to their own celebration," Betz said, before clarifying that the senior's celebration is only an addition to the overall Hey Day event.

"Still, we don't want to take away the importance of the day from the juniors, because it really is about them," she said.

As Perlmutter put it, "It's like Hey Day's beautiful cousin."

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