While it might be snowing outside this week, Wharton students were warm in Huntsman Hall sipping hot chocolate at their annual Winter Whartonland event.
Yesterday over 1000 students showed up to mark the final day of festivities.
Hosted for the second straight year by the Wharton Council, the Winter Whartonland Festival was expanded from what used to be a one-day event to four full days of holiday-themed films, snacks and games.
"Sometimes Wharton can feel like a corporate office, but Winter Whartonland is about building a deeper community and connections among the students," stated Wharton senior and event chair Kavita Mathews.
Although the Wharton Council was the primary host of the Winter Whartonland event, the Wharton Advisory Board and Cohort Board, along with over 20 Wharton groups worked to help put together festivities for the entire week.
Competition outside of the classroom came as a refreshing change to many of the Wharton students who participated.
Students had the opportunity to square off against each other in a much-anticipated gingerbread house competition. All nine freshmen cohorts, Wharton's method for dividing up freshmen into Management teams, were represented in the contest.
Elbow-deep in frosting, Wharton and Nursing freshman James Calderwood remarked, "We're very used to competition in Wharton, but getting deep in frosting and fighting for points with your cohort is something we're not as used to."
Wharton freshman Alex Fu added, "I forgot about finals after building a nice [gingerbread] replica of Huntsman Hall."
Some students found the festival a way to unleash their competitive spirit, while others found it only a brief distraction.
"It put a smile to my face,but I'm still stressed," said Wharton freshman Carolina Handal.
Still, Wharton freshman George Huang used the festival as an opportunity to relax. "It's a good way to [relieve stress] after having a bunch of management assignments due today."
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