SPEC throws back to the '90s

Spring isn’t the only thing making a comeback these days.

As the sun set over Wynn Commons, hundreds of students joined the Social Planning and Events Committee for their event titled “Throwback to the ’90s.”

College and Nursing senior and SPEC Special Events Co-Director Arielle Bokhour wanted the event to complement this year’s Spring Fling theme, “40 Years of Fling.”

“We decided to go with a similar theme of going back in time and celebrating the past,” she said.

Wynn Commons was divided into a number of tables and booths where guests could stop by and reminisce on their ’90s childhoods.

Nostalgic treats from the past — including Pop Rocks, Air Heads and Capri Sun — were a major draw for those in attendance.

College freshman Danielle Kennedy noted that she was most excited about eating the food at the event, regardless of the consequences. “[There are] a lot of sweets,” she said. “They’re not really good for Spring Fling outfits.”

Just as it did in the ’90s, music played an integral role in SPEC’s flashback event. The Bachelor Boys — an energetic Philadelphia-based cover band — spent an hour performing songs such as the 1992 hit “Friday I’m in Love” by The Cure and Oasis’ classic “Wonderwall” from 1995.

“We kind of wanted to go above and beyond instead of just having an iPod playing,” Bokhour said. “They were actually really good. We supplied them with a playlist, and they covered most of the things we requested.”

Hearing their favorite ’90s songs brought back memories to those in the crowd.

Kennedy loved hip-hop during this decade, citing “A Tribe Called Quest” as her top choice.

On the contrary, Engineering freshman Jonathan Sanchez loved the Hispanic music. “Frank Reyes had some great music in the ’90s,” he said.

Dance Dance Revolution, commonly known as DDR, was also a big hit among the guests. College junior Edem Attikese was particularly excited to move and groove to the beat. “I got here, saw DDR and was like, ‘I’m doing it!’” he said.

Although he was excited to show off his dancing skills, he thought today’s dance moves were superior to the dance moves of the ’90s. “Dance is always evolving,” he said. “It’s getting better and bigger. There’s always more to pull from today, whereas in the past you had less.”

According to Bokhour, SPEC turned Dance Dance Revolution into a competition by creating a bracket tournament and giving away two free Spring Fling floor passes to the winner.

The event was also an occasion to reflect on another much-loved aspect of the ’90s — television.

Liz Nunez, a high school senior who was visiting campus for Penn Scholars Preview, said she loved violent cartoons in her childhood. “There are so many things that you can’t show in cartoons nowadays,” she said. “Do you know all the [tortuous] things Tom and Jerry did?”

Nunez was hosted by Wharton freshman Sydney Williams, who loved watching shows on Nick Gas in the ’90s. “It was a channel for games and sports that Nickelodeon had,” she said. “I didn’t have Disney [Channel] or regular Nickelodeon.”

“You had the ratchet Nickelodeon!” Nunez responded.

By the end, Bokhour thought the event was a success. “We wanted it to be a hangout kind of environment,” she said.

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