Harvard's Spring Best?

PROVIDENCE, R.I.--April 17: It's Friday night of Spring Weekend at Brown, and the party scene is hopping.

About 300 laughing and dancing students are crowded in Wreston Quad, standing in tight clusters on the lawn outside the frat houses. The dance remix, "My Heart Will Go On," is blasting from a third-story frat window, and students are chugging beers and ignoring the nearby police, who seem content to munch on pizza and watch the party.

Other students are lounging on couches dragged onto the grass, or tossing frisbees back and forth while waiting for a chance to slip back inside the hot tub outside a coed frat.

And this was the off night.

Friday night's festivities were sandwiched between a rapfest Thursday night--KRS-ONE, Grandmaster Flash, and Rakim--and an unmelodic alternative assault Saturday, opened by Luna, followed by Yo La Tengo, with Sonic Youth as a headliner.

If you were to take a spring tour along the East Coast, stopping at many of the top colleges along the way, your weekend festivities would range from trendy bigname concerts, to unstructured parties and games, to a two-day musical extravaganza capped by a funk festival.

And when you hit fair Harvard, you could mingle with the high schoolers, bum some beer off a senior or boogie to the beat of student bands.

To be fair, Harvard does not charge for admissions, student activities fees at Harvard are far lower than at many other colleges, and the majority of the Undergraduate Council's funds go to student groups, the heart of the campus.

For years, Harvard students have complained about the lack of a big name band, and council officials have responded that on a limited budget, with only a few weeks of warmth and sunshine, scheduling a top band was a virtual impossibility.

This year, with a $19,000 bid, the council reached an agreement with Sister Hazel (not exactly a household name) but after being outbid for this upcoming Saturday night, the council acceded to student pressure, and canned the band, opting for a series of six student performances instead.

Still, while students may bring their Pre-Frosh by this weekend's festivities, it is not the long-awaited event dominating campus discussion. In fact, these intrepid first-year reporters, one of whom even sacrificed a weekend of studying to document the Brown party scene, had heard nary a word of Harvard springfest until they were assigned this story several weeks ago.

Below lies a virtual tour of what you might have seen if you had defied your parents and gone almost anywhere else-even a few steps down the road.

Tufts: Two Stops and a World Away

Anyone who doesn't want to sit through several hours of student bands this coming Saturday can take the Red Line two stops to Tufts, where the Spring Fling Concert promises a large crowd and an impressive talent lineup.

The 11 a.m. concert, planned by the Tufts Concert Board, will feature rap superstar L.L. Cool J, with jazz-funk artist Maceo Parker and ska band Less Than Jake opening. In the past, the Spring Fling has featured such well-known bands as George Clinton and P-Funk All-Stars, Barenaked Ladies and A Tribe Called Quest.

According to senior Jason Ciancette, the Concert Board's booking chair, about 6000 people turn out for the event, which is free for Tufts undergraduates and costs $10 for anyone else (like Harvard students).

"That's more than our entire student body, soobviously a very huge percent of ourundergraduates attend," Ciancette says.

While exact figures were unavailable, Ciancettesaid the Concert Board spends about $90,000 of its$130,000 annual budget on the Spring Flingconcert; the talent budget for the event isusually between $40,000 and $50,000. The moneycomes from the $200 Undergraduate StudentActivities Fee that students are given the optionof paying along with tuition.

Harvard's optional activities fee issignificantly lower at $20 per student.

The Saturday afternoon concert is the capstoneevent in Tufts' Spring Fling Week, but certainlynot the only one that draws crowds. Any campusorganization can get its events on the calendarfor the week. This year, there's a trip to aBoston Red Sox game, movie showings on campus,student group performances and a Comedy Show.

Alcohol abuse at the Spring Fling Concert hadbeen a concern of the university in recent years,prompting a stricter policy, Ciancette says.

"Many years ago, there were so many cases ofalcohol poisoning that the...hospital was turningstudents away," he said. "We used to allowre-entry [to the concert] so people would go tothe fraternities, drink and then come back to theconcert."

Now, re-entry is not allowed, but students oflegal drinking age are allowed to bring six cansof beer each into the concert area.

Dartmouth: Animal House Times Ten

Due to growing administrative pressures and anincreasingly strict police presence in the pastdecade, the heavy drinking and wild fraternityfestivities of Dartmouth's Green Key Weekend havebecome a lot more decentralized than many othercolleges.

"It's basically become a laid-back partyweekend, just a time to enjoy the great weather,"says Mark Hoffman, Director of Dartmouth's StudentActivity Office.

"The basic attraction to Green Key Weekend is[the] fraternity lawn parties," writes NancyFopiano in an e-mail, a Dartmouth senior and aco-chair of the Green Key Society.

Organized by the Coed Fraternity SororityCouncil these parties include fraternity-sponsoredshows, a cappella concerts and fund-raisers.Performances range from cultural Step-Shows todances and reggae concerts.

But Dartmouth continues to live up to its"Animal House" reputation, with huge fraternityparties also taking place over the weekend. Someeven bring college alums back to the frats, givingthem an opportunity to finally drink legally.

Saturday afternoon also features a day ofcontests and activities ranging from tug-of-warand pedestal jousting to face painting and dogshows, some sponsored by non-college companies andgroups, according to The Dartmouth, the campusdaily.

Earlier years have included various big-namemusical acts, but, Hoffman says, the "questionableweather and lack of space" discourage the collegefrom sponsoring a big outdoor concert.

Princeton: P-Funk, Sheryl Crow and theWallflowers

Unsatisfied with the one concert each year thatother schools host, the blue bloods at Princeton'sUndergraduate Student Council put together a bigconcert every semester.

According to the Council's Social Chair,Sophomore Jeff Leven, Princeton's success atputting together both a great Spring and FallConcert rests on three simple things: location,location, location.

"Being between New York and Philly, we cancatch groups between the two stops on their tour,and get good bands at good prices," he says.

After deciding which band to go after,Princeton then contacts the band and scheduleseach concert for a week-end that the band canplay.

The Social Chair starts the process as soon aselected, Leven says, beginning planning for theFall Concert before summer vacation, and for theSpring Concert before Christmas Break.

To choose which band to book, the Social Chairpolls students at the Activities Fair beginningeach semester, and also conducts voice mailsurveys. We're a "smaller school with a communityatmosphere," Leven says, "it's easier to walkaround the campus and find out what people want."

All the early groundwork pays off: their SpringConcert this year features. The Mighty Bosstonesas head-liners with God Street Wine as theSecondary performers. Opening bands include thePilfers, and Clowns for Progress.

The Wallflowers headlined the Fall Concert, andperformers for the past few years have includedGeorge Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars, SherylCrow, Indigo Girls, Rusted Root, Toad the WetSprocket, The Samples, and a comedy act by DavidSpade.

Such star studded lineups, however, do not comecheap. Popular headliners such as The MightyMighty Bosstones and The Wallflowers cost about$45,000 each, says Leven, and bands like GodStreet Wine charge about $50,000 to play anopening set.

Princeton finances the costs of the concertwith $10 tickets available only to students andfaculty, with the option of buying one guestticket per customer.

Leven says the Undergraduate Student Councilpulls in about $25,000 this way, and makes up therest of the money out of their Council's $100,000budget each semester.

In addition to the Spring Concert, Princetonstudents are also treated to an end of the yearSpring Picnic courtesy of Princeton's DiningServices.

Moving tables and food into the middle of anearby field, the Undergraduate Student Counciland Dining Services add to the picnic atmosphereby splitting the costs for carnival games andcontests.

"The ultimate dream," Leven says, "is tocombine the two events." He would like to see theconcert performed in the stadium, with theexpanded facilities allowing increased ticketsales justifying even bigger bands, and a carnivalin the meantime.

Duke: March Without the Madness

Duke's Springfest most closely resemblesHarvard's in scope. A one-day event that takesplace in the school's main overlappingquadrangles, it features craftspeople, foodvendors and varying entertainment.

Sophomore Jared Strauss, the chair of Duke'sSpecial Events Committee which plans Springfestand its fall counterpart, Octoberfest, says theevent was "primarily a crafts fair."

According to Krista Cipriano, who advised thecommittee until this year, there are usually 70tables rented to local vendors of homemade goods,and 10 tables with food vendors.

"The food vendors are supposed to bringsomething to campus that the students don'tusually have, such as Greek food or homemade icecream," Cipriano says.

The Special Events Committee, which is part ofDuke's Student Union, usually pays a company tobring in a game like student sumo-wrestling orjoust, and then has two or three local bands playin the Residential Quad in the afternoon, Strausssays.

"This year we had the Jumpstarts, a NorthCarolina ska band, and Different Drum, a jazzband," Strauss says. "We only have $2500 to spendbetween the game and band, so we can't get bandsthat do national touring."

According to both Cipriano and Strauss, thesuccess of Springfest at Duke is veryweather-sensitive.

"We got really lucky with the weather thisyear, and received nothing but good reports [onthe event]," Strauss says. "At any given time,there were about 2,000 students in the two quads.

"Sometimes, though, when it rains, we have tobring the event inside to the Student Center, inwhich case we don't have the game," he adds.

Concerns about the weather at a school thatholds its Springfest in March--it's hard tosympathize.

UPenn: Great Expectations

If Harvard's Undergraduate Council has a hardtime living up to expectations built up from thepast, consider the difficulties facing UPenn'sSpecial Events and Planning Committee (SPEC).

After years of Spring Fling headliners thatincluded Cypress Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, andthe Violent Femmes, SPEC has encountered criticismthis year despite its four-band "Funk MusicFestival."

The festival's lineup features Maceo Parker,the John Spencer Blues Explosion, ska-punk bandFishbone and the Five Fingers of Funk.Dissatisfied with impressive assemblage of talentand a crowd of over 10,000, many UPenn studentshave complained that these bands lack the namerecognition of previous Spring Fling headliners.

"While the bands may be good performers inthemselves, none of them can claim the namerecognition necessary to be considered headlinersor the broad appeal necessary for a campus-wideevent," read a March editorial in The DailyPennsylvanian entitled "Fling '98 Lineup Not Up toPar."

The concert, which took place Friday night, wasthe main attraction of an extensive two-day eventthat featured crafts vendors, bands, food andgames similar to those provided by Duke.

"All day we have bands playing in theQuadrangle, some of which are signed with labelsand others of which are student bands," SPEC chairSean Steinmarc says. "We also have `bouncyboxing,' where students bounce around in aninflated ring and box with oversized gloves."

There are also vendors selling various craftsand local restaurants that are brought in to sellfood. Admission to the Funk Music Festival costs$12 for students and $15 for guests. The entireuniversity can attend the rest of the festivitiesfor free, and guest passes can be obtained for $5apiece. By Thursday of last week 2,000 guestpasses had been sold.

Saturday night's events include a Super BlockParty and a Side-Show with such alternative formsof entertainment as virtual reality machines,psychics, and magicians.

To bring such a wide variety of entertainmentand such prominent bands to Penn's campus costs alot in time and money. Steinmarc said that SPECspends at least $150,000 each year on SpringFling, some of which is made back from the sale ofconcert tickets and guest passes.

Cornell: Slacking on the Slope

While Cornell may lack the annual springconcert that other schools have, Slope Day showsthat its students are not lacking in spirit or asense of tradition.

Slope Day takes place "on this massive hill inthe middle of campus," says senior LeslieKirchler, the chair of Students Offering Support(SOS). "On the last day of classes, everyonebrings their couches and chairs out onto the hill,and just starts drinking."

SOS is a volunteer organization of about 300Cornell students, staff and faculty who walkaround during the crowd of 8,000 to 10,000 andwatches out for potentially dangerous situationsor students in need of medical attention due toalcohol poisoning.

Kirchler says Slope Day has its origins in anannual Spring Parade which no longer takes place.In previous years, the university would set up astage, and student groups would bring music groupsto play on campus. But, due to safety concerns,there is no longer any formal entertainment.

"For most people, it's just a day to hang outwith friends," Kirchler says.

In the absence of big bands, students improviseto find entertainment.

"Some people even bring their instrumentsoutside and just start playing," Kirchler said."My sophomore year, it rained, and there wasmud-sliding," she adds.

Kirchler is also involved in the planning ofCornell's Senior Send-Off, which will take placefor the first time this year, two days after SlopeDay. Put together by the Cornell ConcertCommission and the Class of '98 Alumni Council,the concert will feature They Might Be Giants, aband that played Harvard's Springfest severalyears ago.

Drinks will be sold at the Send-Off, but onlyfor students over 21, and there will be anas-yet-undecided limit on how many drinks a personcan buy.

"We'll be carding heavily," Kirchler said.

Cornell Dean of Students John L. Ford said thatif the Senior Send-Off became an annual event thatstarted to attract students away from Slope Day,it would be worth the effort put into it.

"Slope Day is a little more raucous, than wewould like to see it," Ford said. "[The Send-Off]is an attempt to be a wholesome, tamecelebration."

Ford said that the University does not condoneSlope Day, but does provide some portablebathrooms to prevent the restrooms in nearbybuildings from becoming congested.

"That's the minimalist approach of what we cando," he said. "We used to set up the stage andprovide sound equipment...[but] we've banned themusic."CrimsonNeeraj K. GuptaWHERE WERE YOU THIS WEEKEND? Brownpartygoers enjoy their (far superior) version ofSpringfest.

"That's more than our entire student body, soobviously a very huge percent of ourundergraduates attend," Ciancette says.

While exact figures were unavailable, Ciancettesaid the Concert Board spends about $90,000 of its$130,000 annual budget on the Spring Flingconcert; the talent budget for the event isusually between $40,000 and $50,000. The moneycomes from the $200 Undergraduate StudentActivities Fee that students are given the optionof paying along with tuition.

Harvard's optional activities fee issignificantly lower at $20 per student.

The Saturday afternoon concert is the capstoneevent in Tufts' Spring Fling Week, but certainlynot the only one that draws crowds. Any campusorganization can get its events on the calendarfor the week. This year, there's a trip to aBoston Red Sox game, movie showings on campus,student group performances and a Comedy Show.

Alcohol abuse at the Spring Fling Concert hadbeen a concern of the university in recent years,prompting a stricter policy, Ciancette says.

"Many years ago, there were so many cases ofalcohol poisoning that the...hospital was turningstudents away," he said. "We used to allowre-entry [to the concert] so people would go tothe fraternities, drink and then come back to theconcert."

Now, re-entry is not allowed, but students oflegal drinking age are allowed to bring six cansof beer each into the concert area.

Dartmouth: Animal House Times Ten

Due to growing administrative pressures and anincreasingly strict police presence in the pastdecade, the heavy drinking and wild fraternityfestivities of Dartmouth's Green Key Weekend havebecome a lot more decentralized than many othercolleges.

"It's basically become a laid-back partyweekend, just a time to enjoy the great weather,"says Mark Hoffman, Director of Dartmouth's StudentActivity Office.

"The basic attraction to Green Key Weekend is[the] fraternity lawn parties," writes NancyFopiano in an e-mail, a Dartmouth senior and aco-chair of the Green Key Society.

Organized by the Coed Fraternity SororityCouncil these parties include fraternity-sponsoredshows, a cappella concerts and fund-raisers.Performances range from cultural Step-Shows todances and reggae concerts.

But Dartmouth continues to live up to its"Animal House" reputation, with huge fraternityparties also taking place over the weekend. Someeven bring college alums back to the frats, givingthem an opportunity to finally drink legally.

Saturday afternoon also features a day ofcontests and activities ranging from tug-of-warand pedestal jousting to face painting and dogshows, some sponsored by non-college companies andgroups, according to The Dartmouth, the campusdaily.

Earlier years have included various big-namemusical acts, but, Hoffman says, the "questionableweather and lack of space" discourage the collegefrom sponsoring a big outdoor concert.

Princeton: P-Funk, Sheryl Crow and theWallflowers

Unsatisfied with the one concert each year thatother schools host, the blue bloods at Princeton'sUndergraduate Student Council put together a bigconcert every semester.

According to the Council's Social Chair,Sophomore Jeff Leven, Princeton's success atputting together both a great Spring and FallConcert rests on three simple things: location,location, location.

"Being between New York and Philly, we cancatch groups between the two stops on their tour,and get good bands at good prices," he says.

After deciding which band to go after,Princeton then contacts the band and scheduleseach concert for a week-end that the band canplay.

The Social Chair starts the process as soon aselected, Leven says, beginning planning for theFall Concert before summer vacation, and for theSpring Concert before Christmas Break.

To choose which band to book, the Social Chairpolls students at the Activities Fair beginningeach semester, and also conducts voice mailsurveys. We're a "smaller school with a communityatmosphere," Leven says, "it's easier to walkaround the campus and find out what people want."

All the early groundwork pays off: their SpringConcert this year features. The Mighty Bosstonesas head-liners with God Street Wine as theSecondary performers. Opening bands include thePilfers, and Clowns for Progress.

The Wallflowers headlined the Fall Concert, andperformers for the past few years have includedGeorge Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars, SherylCrow, Indigo Girls, Rusted Root, Toad the WetSprocket, The Samples, and a comedy act by DavidSpade.

Such star studded lineups, however, do not comecheap. Popular headliners such as The MightyMighty Bosstones and The Wallflowers cost about$45,000 each, says Leven, and bands like GodStreet Wine charge about $50,000 to play anopening set.

Princeton finances the costs of the concertwith $10 tickets available only to students andfaculty, with the option of buying one guestticket per customer.

Leven says the Undergraduate Student Councilpulls in about $25,000 this way, and makes up therest of the money out of their Council's $100,000budget each semester.

In addition to the Spring Concert, Princetonstudents are also treated to an end of the yearSpring Picnic courtesy of Princeton's DiningServices.

Moving tables and food into the middle of anearby field, the Undergraduate Student Counciland Dining Services add to the picnic atmosphereby splitting the costs for carnival games andcontests.

"The ultimate dream," Leven says, "is tocombine the two events." He would like to see theconcert performed in the stadium, with theexpanded facilities allowing increased ticketsales justifying even bigger bands, and a carnivalin the meantime.

Duke: March Without the Madness

Duke's Springfest most closely resemblesHarvard's in scope. A one-day event that takesplace in the school's main overlappingquadrangles, it features craftspeople, foodvendors and varying entertainment.

Sophomore Jared Strauss, the chair of Duke'sSpecial Events Committee which plans Springfestand its fall counterpart, Octoberfest, says theevent was "primarily a crafts fair."

According to Krista Cipriano, who advised thecommittee until this year, there are usually 70tables rented to local vendors of homemade goods,and 10 tables with food vendors.

"The food vendors are supposed to bringsomething to campus that the students don'tusually have, such as Greek food or homemade icecream," Cipriano says.

The Special Events Committee, which is part ofDuke's Student Union, usually pays a company tobring in a game like student sumo-wrestling orjoust, and then has two or three local bands playin the Residential Quad in the afternoon, Strausssays.

"This year we had the Jumpstarts, a NorthCarolina ska band, and Different Drum, a jazzband," Strauss says. "We only have $2500 to spendbetween the game and band, so we can't get bandsthat do national touring."

According to both Cipriano and Strauss, thesuccess of Springfest at Duke is veryweather-sensitive.

"We got really lucky with the weather thisyear, and received nothing but good reports [onthe event]," Strauss says. "At any given time,there were about 2,000 students in the two quads.

"Sometimes, though, when it rains, we have tobring the event inside to the Student Center, inwhich case we don't have the game," he adds.

Concerns about the weather at a school thatholds its Springfest in March--it's hard tosympathize.

UPenn: Great Expectations

If Harvard's Undergraduate Council has a hardtime living up to expectations built up from thepast, consider the difficulties facing UPenn'sSpecial Events and Planning Committee (SPEC).

After years of Spring Fling headliners thatincluded Cypress Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, andthe Violent Femmes, SPEC has encountered criticismthis year despite its four-band "Funk MusicFestival."

The festival's lineup features Maceo Parker,the John Spencer Blues Explosion, ska-punk bandFishbone and the Five Fingers of Funk.Dissatisfied with impressive assemblage of talentand a crowd of over 10,000, many UPenn studentshave complained that these bands lack the namerecognition of previous Spring Fling headliners.

"While the bands may be good performers inthemselves, none of them can claim the namerecognition necessary to be considered headlinersor the broad appeal necessary for a campus-wideevent," read a March editorial in The DailyPennsylvanian entitled "Fling '98 Lineup Not Up toPar."

The concert, which took place Friday night, wasthe main attraction of an extensive two-day eventthat featured crafts vendors, bands, food andgames similar to those provided by Duke.

"All day we have bands playing in theQuadrangle, some of which are signed with labelsand others of which are student bands," SPEC chairSean Steinmarc says. "We also have `bouncyboxing,' where students bounce around in aninflated ring and box with oversized gloves."

There are also vendors selling various craftsand local restaurants that are brought in to sellfood. Admission to the Funk Music Festival costs$12 for students and $15 for guests. The entireuniversity can attend the rest of the festivitiesfor free, and guest passes can be obtained for $5apiece. By Thursday of last week 2,000 guestpasses had been sold.

Saturday night's events include a Super BlockParty and a Side-Show with such alternative formsof entertainment as virtual reality machines,psychics, and magicians.

To bring such a wide variety of entertainmentand such prominent bands to Penn's campus costs alot in time and money. Steinmarc said that SPECspends at least $150,000 each year on SpringFling, some of which is made back from the sale ofconcert tickets and guest passes.

Cornell: Slacking on the Slope

While Cornell may lack the annual springconcert that other schools have, Slope Day showsthat its students are not lacking in spirit or asense of tradition.

Slope Day takes place "on this massive hill inthe middle of campus," says senior LeslieKirchler, the chair of Students Offering Support(SOS). "On the last day of classes, everyonebrings their couches and chairs out onto the hill,and just starts drinking."

SOS is a volunteer organization of about 300Cornell students, staff and faculty who walkaround during the crowd of 8,000 to 10,000 andwatches out for potentially dangerous situationsor students in need of medical attention due toalcohol poisoning.

Kirchler says Slope Day has its origins in anannual Spring Parade which no longer takes place.In previous years, the university would set up astage, and student groups would bring music groupsto play on campus. But, due to safety concerns,there is no longer any formal entertainment.

"For most people, it's just a day to hang outwith friends," Kirchler says.

In the absence of big bands, students improviseto find entertainment.

"Some people even bring their instrumentsoutside and just start playing," Kirchler said."My sophomore year, it rained, and there wasmud-sliding," she adds.

Kirchler is also involved in the planning ofCornell's Senior Send-Off, which will take placefor the first time this year, two days after SlopeDay. Put together by the Cornell ConcertCommission and the Class of '98 Alumni Council,the concert will feature They Might Be Giants, aband that played Harvard's Springfest severalyears ago.

Drinks will be sold at the Send-Off, but onlyfor students over 21, and there will be anas-yet-undecided limit on how many drinks a personcan buy.

"We'll be carding heavily," Kirchler said.

Cornell Dean of Students John L. Ford said thatif the Senior Send-Off became an annual event thatstarted to attract students away from Slope Day,it would be worth the effort put into it.

"Slope Day is a little more raucous, than wewould like to see it," Ford said. "[The Send-Off]is an attempt to be a wholesome, tamecelebration."

Ford said that the University does not condoneSlope Day, but does provide some portablebathrooms to prevent the restrooms in nearbybuildings from becoming congested.

"That's the minimalist approach of what we cando," he said. "We used to set up the stage andprovide sound equipment...[but] we've banned themusic."CrimsonNeeraj K. GuptaWHERE WERE YOU THIS WEEKEND? Brownpartygoers enjoy their (far superior) version ofSpringfest.