Safer Hey Day secures tradition

Hey Day Photo Gallery

It started out just like any other Hey Day.

A sea of red and white juniors chased each other for a bite of styrofoam hat, devoured barbecued meats and, as per the 76-year-old tradition, celebrated their official passage into seniordom last Friday.

But this year's day-long event was conspicuously different than those of the past few years.

When the juniors left Hill Field to march around campus, the seniors, standing on the sidelines, were clutching only mini marshmallows, streamers and the occasional bottle of ketchup - there were no fish heads, rotten eggs or bags of urine in sight.

And without these hallmarks of so-called hazing, the administration rescinded its threat to move or cancel Hey Day.

Officials had threatened to get rid of Hey Day last year after a junior was sent to the hospital last year for being hit in the eye with an egg.

As a result, junior and senior class representatives made concerted efforts this year to keep the tradition alive by toning down the alleged hazing that had recently accompanied the tradition.

Hence the marshmallows.

And hence the disappointment that many juniors expressed upon returning home cleaner than expected.

"It's slightly disappointing that the tradition is clearly going to go away," said College junior Emma Rosen, whose shirt remained condiment-free after the march.

One junior marcher yelled, "I want a fish!" as he sought out more-vicious hazers on Locust Walk.

Others sported shower caps, prepared for a bigger mess than there was. Some showed up to the event with their shirts already smeared; one senior said her junior friends had asked to be hazed at home.

"It was kind of lame," College junior Bryan Maliken said of this year's event. "The more hazing there is, the more fun people have, the more chaos . that's more of a right of passage than just everyone walking around and just being told 'you're a senior now.'"

Still, students' restraint has secured the tradition for the foreseeable future.

Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum credited the "diligent work of the classes of 2008 and 2007" for this year's turnaround.

She also commended the junior and senior class presidents - Wharton junior Puneet Singh and Wharton senior Andrew Kaplan, respectively - for being "scrupulously thoughtful about their planning" in fostering cooperation between classes.

Penn Police Chief Mark Dorsey gave credit to the students for the fact that there were "no serious incidents," although he said that he would like to see a cleaner Hey Day in the future.

As the juniors assembled in front of College Hall chanting "A-my Gut-mann," the University President told the juniors that they were "looking more beautiful than [she has] ever seen a group of juniors look."

In the end, Kaplan and Singh said they felt their efforts paid off.

"Our class and the community and the University were able to change the most historic tradition for the better," Singh said.

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