Skimmer boasts bands, free shirts

Over 600 sophomores turned out for this year's Skimmer festival held at the Institute of Contemporary Art Terrace at 36th and Sansom streets last night. Sponsored by the Sophomore Class Board and open to all sophomores, the event was free and featured musical performances by sophomore bands Digical and GBandFree. Attendees were also drawn by free Scoop DeVille ice cream and brownies, vitamin water and especially Skimmer 2004 T-shirts.

"People take their separate paths after freshman year, and you don't really see them," College sophomore James Stith said. "It's good to bring everyone together again ... and you get free T-shirts."

The event -- which started at 8 p.m. and ended at 10 p.m. -- started off slow as the crowd stood around waiting for the music to start. "This is like my bar mitzvah," Sophomore Class President and Daily Pennsylvanian photographer Jack Cohen said as he addressed the crowd.

By the time Digical had finished playing, and the T-shirts and ice cream were exhausted, the massive initial crowd had mostly dispersed.

"Some people just came for the T-shirts," said Sophomore Board SAS Representative Nick Bobys, who was the bouncer for the evening. "That's kind of lame, but I can see where they're coming from."

Slight drama ensued when two police officers entered the Terrace at 9 p.m. reporting noise complaints from guests at the Inn at Penn and threatened to shut down the festival, but the problem was quickly diffused. The police "couldn't believe there was no alcohol, so they were willing to defer people's complaints," Cohen said.

"I hope we gave the people at the Inn at Penn some good music to rock to," Digical singer and College sophomore Ethan Lipsitz said.

Most attendees were positive about the Sophomore Class Board's efforts to unify the Class of 2006 through music and free T-shirts.

"We should have more of these events," Wharton sophomore Rebecca Hood said. "They're really fun, bring the class together and help you meet kids. Plus, you can never go wrong with the free T-shirt."

Hip hop group GBandFree and rock/jam/funk band Digical were the top finishers in last year's freshman event Battle of the Bands. The Sophomore Class Board decided to invite sophomore bands after failing to sign old school rapper Grand Master Flash. "We were throwing around some numbers, and the Flash called our bluff," Cohen explained.

Skimmer is an annual celebration for sophomores, traditionally held at Fairmount Park to coincide with the varsity crew team's first regatta of the season. Skimmer has not been held at Fairmount Park the last few years mostly due to weather concerns.

According to Cohen, the event cost around $6,000 with an Undergraduate Assembly provision for Skimmer of $2,500. The Sophomore Class Board intends to hold another event for sophomores later in the spring.

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