One high-school student, ecstatic to be away from home, eager to get a taste of college life, can ruin Spring Fling and Penn recruitment for years to come.
This is the risk taken by the University by juxtaposing Penn Previews, the visitation days for admitted high-school students, and Spring Fling, our annual festival that takes place in the Quad. This year, Penn Previews will be taking place on April 6, 9 to 13, and 16. Spring Fling will be officially take place on April 13 and 14.
Inviting high-school students to visit during Fling is an excellent marketing tool: It puts Penn on display during the liveliest social event of the spring semester. However, the administration can take some small extra steps to assure the safety of high-school students who roam the campus outside of University-sanctioned supervision.
According to Valerie Welsh, director of campus programs for the Admissions Office, "We offer College House tours in the morning - but all tours are out of the Quad by 11:00 a.m." Limiting student access to the Quad after the start of Fling is a commendable move by the administration. Most prospective students would not be flattered by the conditions of Quad bathrooms during Spring Fling.
Additionally, efforts such as FlingSafe will be working to assure the safety of all students who are inside of the Quad during Spring Fling.
According to Lindsay Motlin, an Engineering junior and co-director of the SPEC Spring Fling Committee, FlingSafe "volunteers go through training on how to prevent alcohol abuse and diffuse high-risk situations. They serve as a positive peer-to-peer influence, encouraging responsible, appropriate and safe behavior."
However, the Admissions Office's definition of the "start" of Fling is a tad na've. Fling festivities do not officially begin in the Quad until Friday, but much social activity starts as early as Thursday afternoon.
Some prospective Penn students are present at these Spring Fling social events. Two high-school students described their Spring Fling experiences in an April 12, 2006 article of The Daily Pennsylvanian "Staying for the afterparty: Pre-frosh get a taste of Fling."
Welsh states that these students are not part of Penn Previews, because there are no organized overnight stays during Spring Fling weekend. These two students and many others visit Penn during Spring Fling by staying with a current student and are outside of University supervision.
Quad festivities should not even be the greatest cause for concern. Off-campus student houses come to life with parties as early as Thursday night. At these functions, high-school students are not protected by the oversight of FlingSafe and can easily get separated from their hosts in a crowd.
For the most part, this should not be a cause for alarm. One can comfortably assume that prospective Quakers are good decision-makers or that their hosts are usually friends or relatives who exercise responsibility in watching over their guests.
In fact, high-school students are able to visit campus almost any weekend. However, the intense social atmosphere surrounding Spring Fling might call for an extra effort by the administration to keep track of prospective students who are on campus during Spring Fling.
In a weekend dominated by alcohol consumption, it is disturbing that one slip in judgment can result in a public-relations nightmare for Penn. I can already see the headline: Prospective Penn Student in Critical Condition at HUP.
That many visiting high-school students during Fling are prospective Quakers makes the situation more serious. Anything that happens to a Penn prospect on or near campus reflects upon the University's accommodation of admitted students.
Admittedly, nothing can be done about high-school students who stay with friends or family who live off-campus. For guests of on-campus residents, the University could simply cross check guest identification with a list of students who are visiting for Penn Previews. The host could be required to bring the visiting student back with himself or herself by a certain hour of the night.
It is not much, but host students will be held strictly accountable for the well-being of their visitors, and the Penn Previews program, by providing a list of participants, will have done its part to make sure visitors are safe, even outside of their jurisdiction.
Alternatively, the Penn Previews on the Friday of Fling can be cancelled and moved to another day of healthy Penn celebration: Hey Day.
Ernest Gomez is an Engineering and Wharton junior from Beverly Hill, Calif. His e-mail address is gomez@dailypennsylvanian.com. Please, Call Me Ted appears on alternate Tuesdays.
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