Fox News films morning show on College Green

Early risers who walked through campus Friday morning had the chance to watch the filming of a live television show, eat a Pat's cheesesteak at 7 a.m., participate in a Tastycake eating contest and spot some local celebrities.

"It's like a circus," Wharton and Engineering freshman Ravi Subramanian said.

College Green was bustling as members of the Fox News crew joined with performers from Penn and greater Philadelphia, including the Philadelphia Eagles' cheerleaders, Penn's cheerleaders, the 76ers' dancers, the Penn Band and Off the Beat and Chord on Blues a cappella groups, for the taping of Fox & Friends, the network's morning show.

The live show, which followed the Thursday taping of the channel's debate show Hannity & Colmes at the Forrest Theatre, also included a segment that featured two Penn students -- College Republicans President and Daily Pennsylvanian columnist Dan Gomez and debate team member Craig Cohen.

The event also attracted several Philadelphia officials and personalities, including Mayor John Street; J.T. Taylor, the original lead singer of Kool & The Gang, who performed "Celebrate"; 76ers President Pat Croce and singer Frank Stallone, the brother of Sylvester Stallone. University President Judith Rodin and Provost Robert Barchi also appeared briefly on camera.

Meanwhile, actors dressed up as a number of city-themed characters -- such as Rocky and Ben Franklin -- mingled with the crowd, while vendors distributed free Philadelphia classics, including Rita's Water Ice, Primo Hoagies and Pat's Cheesesteaks, which drew crowds despite the early hour.

The hosts of Fox & Friends, Steve Doocy, E.D. Hill and Brian Kilmeade, discussed politics, entertainment, business, sports and weather live in front of College Hall. They interviewed the various Penn and Philadelphia performers and Hill even assembled an authentic Philly cheesesteak on air with the help of a Pat's vendor.

The two-hour show ended with a Tastycake eating contest, where two teams faced off to see who could finish more Tastycake apple pies in one minute.

"I've never had a Tastycake before. We don't have them down in Georgia," Engineering freshman Tom Fahey said as he prepared to participate in the contest.

"This is so much fun," he added. "I'm having a blast."

Despite the cold weather, performers said they were excited about the chance to be seen on TV.

"This was better than expected," said College sophomore Nina Vyas, a Penn cheerleader.

"I thought we would be behind the Eagles cheerleaders or something, in the background, but we were dancing right with them," added Katie Costanzo, a College sophomore.

"This was a great chance to get exposure," said Jun Park, a Wharton sophomore in Chord on Blues, who sang the National Anthem live on the air. "My family is at home watching this in Korea."

Even students who just came to see the telecast or stumbled upon the festivities on the way to class followed cameras with hopes of getting a few seconds of air time.

Among the many students present Friday morning was a group protesting unfair news coverage. The group remained on College Green for the entire two-hour telecast.

The group of students stood behind the hosts, holding signs with a number of statements, including, "The Usual Suspect: Black Male," "Don't put a face on crime," "People of Color Unite" and "Crime Down, Coverage Up."

"The misrepresentation and sensationalization of news is demoralizing the whole neighborhood," College senior Chevon Walker said. "It's a national issue, an epidemic."

Members of the Graduate Employees Together-University of Pennsylvania, which has been lobbying for the right of graduate students to unionize, also viewed the event as an opportunity to voice their opinion.

The group brought signs and shouted "Count our votes," referring to the votes that were cast in February on unionization but have yet to be tabulated due to the University's appeal of the decision allowing the vote to be held.

After the live telecast, Fox News representatives said they were thrilled with the turnout.

"This is the only college campus we've ever done, and it was a great experience," said Matt Singerman, executive producer of the show. "We had everything you love about Philly. The whole thing went great. There were protesters here, that's free speech, and we love it."

Kilmeade also thought the telecast from Penn was a success.

"This was fantastic," he said. "The people, spirit and diversity were great, and I hope to come back."

"If they would have had me, I would've gone to school here," Kilmeade added.

The channel selected Philadelphia as its location for last week's show because the city "is so historic, it's all about patriotism, and we wanted to celebrate and thank Philadelphia fans," Singerman said.

After looking into many locations in the city, Penn was picked for the filming of Fox and Friends.

"We wanted to do a show in Philadelphia," said Gayle Dragity, a publicist for Fox News. "And Penn was one of the top places on our site surveys."

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