Some non-Penn students will have a taste of Fling this weekend — but at an extra cost

Spring Fling is right around the corner — and for some Penn students, that means prepping for visitors. 

Having guests around for fling is not new. This year, each Penn student may purchase up to two guest passes for non-Penn students which typically include students from other colleges and recent Penn graduates. 

College freshman Ji Yoon will be hosting her friend from Columbia University. Yoon previously visited her friend for Bacchanal, Columbia’s spring concert.

“I had a really fun time at Bacchanal,” Yoon said. “I wanted to return the favor because she has been wanting to come.”

Yoon added that she wanted her friend to experience Fling since the music shows at Bacchanal "are not as popular as they are at Penn."

However, inviting friends to Fling can be pricey. 

“[The cost] is definitely an issue, which is why she [is] only staying for a day,” Yoon said.

This year, a guest ticket to the Fling concert featuring Zedd and Tinashe costs $50 and a guest pass for access to activities in the Quad costs  $20. Penn students pay $35 for the concert and can enter the Quad for free. 

Non-penn students may also incur other expenses such as tickets to off-campus events and food items in the Quad. 

At Columbia, Bacchanal concert tickets are only available to students, but are free of cost. 

“I’m wondering if that is a better way of going about things,” Yoon said.

College freshman Maggie Danaher will be hosting her friend, Brenna Fritzsche, a freshman from the University of Maryland. Danaher has been planning to invite Fritzsche to Fling since she visited the University of Maryland for a football game last fall. 

“I wanted to give her something comparable to the Maryland gameday experience,” Danaher said. “I wanted to show her a big, fun event where everyone is involved.”

Non-penn students who come to fling may have their guest passes revoked if they break the terms of their pass, Danaher said. She said she plans to stay with Fritzsche at all times, though she is confident there will be no major issues. 

“I trust her a lot, we have been friends for a long time and I don’t think it is going to be an issue,” Danaher said. “All of my friends here have really been looking forward to meeting her.”

Fritzsche, who is coming to Penn’s campus on Friday afternoon, said she is especially excited for the fling concert.

“[The school has] some awesome performers,” she said.

Fritzsche mentioned that Maryland also organizes concerts for the student body, but, unlike Penn, they are not combined with student performances into a single weekend. To that end, she isn’t exactly sure what to expect of her visit to Penn, she said. 

“I really don’t understand the events of this weekend, I just know they are supposed to be awesome,” Fritzsche joked. ”I wish we did something more like it.”