Organizers say Fling is best in years

Thousands of University students flung themselves back into the '80s during Spring Fling festivities over the weekend. Spring Fling Co-Director Melissa Schaefer, a College junior, said this year's Fling was the smoothest in recent memory from an organizational point of view. "Everyone seemed to be really happy and having a great time," she explained. Schaefer attributed the weekend's success to a combination of good weather and hard work by the Fling committee. The two-day affair kicked off with festivities in the Quadrangle on Friday morning. More than 30 bands and University performing arts groups performed in the Upper and Lower Quads during Fling, including rapper Schooly D, the Mask and Wig Band and major-label signee Ben Arnold. Students clutching opaque water bottles danced to music that ranged from ska to retro-'80s and participated in numerous games around the Quad. One especially popular game involved two students fighting each other like sumo wrestlers -- wearing inflated suits mimicking the weight of the real wrestlers. And a dunking booth run by Tau Epsilon Phi was also popular among anyone who did not mind being submerged in freezing cold water -- including Quaker basketball players Tim Krug, Ira Bowman and Cedric Laster and football players Miles Macik and Mark Fabish. According to Spring Fling Co-Director Gil Beverly, a Wharton senior, the quality and variety of music in the Quad was better than in past years. Beverly said the vendors were also an improvement over last year. "We got completely new stuff," he said. "There was just so much going on -- it was great." For the first time, the Quad had a vendor selling ice cream and also a haircutting booth, Beverly added. The annual Spring Fling concert on Friday night was also a success, according to College senior Mike Parker, co-director of concerts for the Social Planning and Events Committee. The show featured moe., the Skatellites, the Pharcyde and the Violent Femmes. "From a production standpoint it was super," Parker explained. "We'll never be able to please every single person each time. But it was clear that for people who were there, it was a phenomenal time." The Skatellites' mellow, reggae-like sound was the perfect complement to the Pharcyde's hip-hop beat. And the Femmes provided a rousing finale for the estimated 4,000 people in attendance. The band played their classic, "Add it Up," for their final encore -- with the entire audience singing along to the familiar lyrics. Beverly said the committee had made an accurate projection of the show's attendance. "It was less than last year, but it was also a smaller show in terms of names," he explained. Last year's concert featured the Roots, the Samples, Sonic Youth and Parliament-Funkadelic. While this year's concert was less crowded than last year, the Superblock carnival was a "huge success," according to Schaefer. The wind at the 1995 carnival was so strong that the karaoke booth was forced to shut down. This year's carnival also featured a step show for the first time. "The step show was a really big success," Beverly said. "It was very exciting to have something new and completely different. "It also brought a section of campus that might not have been interested otherwise," he added. "It was good to have that happen." The committee also brought in better rides, which may have helped contribute to the carnival's success, Beverly said. A sizeable crowd also attended performances by the Avalons and Munk wit da Funk. The Avalons' surfer-rock sound is a favorite among University students, who sang along with classic tunes like "Hey Mickey" and "Tequila!" Beverly said the only negative aspect of the weekend was the strict enforcement of underage drinking laws by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control and Enforcement Board. "It seems like the whole thing was pretty harsh," he said. "It's a tough time not to be 21."

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