A safer Spring Fling rests partly in the hands of a team of student volunteers.
This year's Fling safety program will include a number of new initiatives, one of which will allow student volunteers to communicate directly with the Penn Police, the Social Planning and Events Committee announced this week.
The volunteer team, dubbed FlingSafe -- a new version of last year's Team Sober -- is aimed at promoting safe and responsible behavior at the two-day festival to be held April 7 and 8.
And while its efforts may only slightly curb what is sometimes cast as a weekend of binge drinking, alcohol-abuse experts and event organizers say the program is worth the effort.
"We realize that as it is, the culture of Spring Fling is unsustainable, and this gives students the opportunity to somewhat rein in that culture," SPEC Spring Fling co-Director and College senior Jake Chanin said.
FlingSafe will replace Team Sober because, Chanin said, problems during the weekend extend beyond alcohol abuse.
"Not all of the problems over the weekend result from drinking, there are many other dangerous situations that students can get into," he said. "We want to focus it on drinking and other safety issues that we feel are important."
Like Team Sober, FlingSafe will consist of student volunteers taking two-and-a-half hour shifts in pairs from noon until 7:30 p.m. on the Friday and Saturday of Fling. Each will be assigned to a specific college house within the Quadrangle.
Chanin said that the responsibilities of these volunteers are two-fold: to be "eyes and ears" around the festival, and to contact police or medical assistance in the event of a potentially dangerous situation arising.
And those who serve in this position should help provide a positive model for other students, he said.
"It is important that students look out for each other, and not just the administration who will get people in trouble," said College sophomore Alexis Hill, who is planning to volunteer for FlingSafe.
The group will be led by the FlingSafe steering committee, composed of student leaders from various on-campus groups. They will coordinate the effort with Stephanie Ives, director of alcohol policy initiatives, from the Fling headquarters in McClelland Hall.
All student volunteers will also be equipped with walkie-talkies which will share a radio frequency with Penn Police. This will allow direct communication with officers.
The FlingSafe steering committee is also planning to start an advertising campaign across campus in the weeks leading up to Fling. It will stress cultural and community events during Fling as well as encourage responsible drinking.
SPEC representatives said they hope the changes will help make the program more effective. And some experts say it will.
Amon Rappaport, a spokesman for the Marin Institute, an alcohol-industry watchdog, said that efforts like FlingSafe are important in providing a counter-balance to the alcohol industry's heavy influence on young people.
"It is helpful when a group can give a balanced perspective that it is, in fact, possible to have fun without binge drinking," he said.
But some students said they doubt exactly how much influence FlingSafe volunteers can have.
"If a student is already going to get drunk, I don't think another student could change their mind," Nursing sophomore Liz Katz said.
Applications to join FlingSafe are currently available online, due by March 24, and each volunteer will receive a free T-shirt and ticket to the Fling concert, which will feature rock band Of A Revolution, or O.A.R.
"We are not going to be able to change the culture of Spring Fling in one or two years, but in order to preserve its tradition, having students show a sense of responsibility is a step in the right direction," Chanin said.
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