Flung over

"The Sweetest Fling" left a sweet aftertaste on the Penn campus as this weekend's festivities came to a close. The two days of Mardi Gras-like activity -- which included live music, carnival games and food -- drew college students from all over the East Coast and from all facets of the campus community. The moonwalk, face-painting and sumo wrestling in the Quadrangle were just a few of the activities that the masses of Penn students and outside visitors had to choose from. "I particularly enjoyed the fried Oreos and ribs," College sophomore Chris Nicolaou said jokingly. "The Quad has never seen so many people as it did on Friday," Fling Committee Co-Director and College Junior Christina Chiew said. "I think Fling went off really smoothly, and I was really impressed with all the work everyone did," she added. The Social Planning and Events Committee's Fling Finance Committee has not yet tallied the money they made this weekend. Profits from Fling will go to SPEC towards funding future events, though Chiew said the group generally does not make a profit. For many freshmen, it was a novelty to wake up and witness their dorm transformed into the craziness that Penn students look forward to every year. "I felt like spring break came to Penn and parked itself in the Quad," College freshman Lauren Gorsky said. "It was out of a movie." "My favorite part was the Lower Quad," College freshman Evan Smith said. "Mask and Wig closed out that part of Fling really well." Eighties pop star Tiffany drew a huge crowd to the Quad in the middle of the day on Saturday, but students were generally disappointed that she played mostly songs from her new album. However, she did close with her famous classic "I Think We're Alone Now," to which the whole crowd enthusiastically sang along. Despite the overall anti-climactic feeling, some avid fans stuck by the pop star. "Tiffany was the first concert I ever went to when I was 10," College freshman Diana Feinstein said. "She was just the same, only this time I was inebriated." Some Penn students played the role of hard-core rockers, as they crowd-surfed to every musical show, including Tiffany's relatively tame performance. In order to balance the crowd of Tiffany and Mask and Wig on Saturday, Penn Six-5000 gave its comedic musical performance at the end of the afternoon on Friday. Other groups that "flung" it on the Lower and Upper Quad stages included student band The Ally, a capella group the Pennyloafers and dance troupe Strictly Funk. All were well-received and well-attended. According to SPEC Fling Committee Co-Director and Wharton junior Jessica Pawvluk, the Carnival in Wynn Commons on Saturday night was quite successful. "Pat's Cheesesteaks seemed to be the biggest draw," Pawvluk said. Other large attractions were the henna tattoos, the dance music and the free goodies provided by corporate sponsors at the carnival. Yet many students opted not to attend this dry evening event and instead chose to party into the wee hours of the morning. The usual Greek parties took on a new life this weekend, as Fling activities continued on well into the night. "I thought it was cool how all the frats had bands playing at their parties," Smith said. Overall, students said they felt like they got everything out of their systems during the this weekend's revelry, though noting the approaching dread of finals. "It's going to be really hard to get back to normal school now," College freshman Lucy Bezdek said. "It was a really nice break." Smith expressed similar sentiments, suggesting that "we should have Fling on a monthly basis."

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