University of Pennsylvania student life
University of Pennsylvania student life includes numerous events and social gatherings around campus, with some sponsored by the college.
After the third quarter of football games, spirited onlookers unite in the singing of "Drink a Highball," which refers to the University's unofficial cocktail, the Pennsylvanian, made with Calvados, a dash of Madeira Wine, an egg white, and a twist of lemon.
[1][2][3] In years long past, students would literally make a toast with the drink to the success of Penn's athletic teams.
During Prohibition, stubborn students insisted on keeping their tradition - since they could not use alcohol, they had no choice but to literally "toast" Penn.
In more recent years, some students have become more creative in their choice of projectiles, and it is not rare to see a hail of bagels or donuts, or even a loaf of French bread come flying down from the stands.
[5] At midnight on the eve of the first Microeconomics 001 midterm exam, hundreds of students (predominantly freshmen) try to release stress by participating in a collective shout on the Junior Balcony of the Lower Quadrangle.
In past years, the Penn Quakers have won the Ivy League championship, sending the jubilant fans into a frenzy.
[7] This tradition has most likely ended, as the last attempt to tear down the goalposts failed in 2003 as a result of a concrete footing that made efforts to topple them futile.
In 2009, students did not attempt to tear down the goal posts, as Penn police officers had made a blockade around them using their bicycles.
On this day, the juniors gather on High Rise Field for a picnic, don straw "skimmers" and canes, and march triumphantly down Locust Walk to College Hall.
When the procession reaches College Hall, the students make an arch with their canes to greet the President of the University.
Fling, which began in 1973, is dubbed the largest college party on the East Coast, and is hosted by the university's Social Planning and Events Committee.
[11] The event takes place on College Green, Penn Commons, and The Quadrangle (or Quad) for a student body drenched in alcohol, for the most part.
Once a "Rowbottom" got underway, automobiles might be overturned, windows smashed, and trolley tracks doused with gasoline and set ablaze.
The club, founded 45 years ago is composed as several semi-independent but centrally funded programs, which each promote awareness of international relations in different ways.
The group performs two major productions each year - a Broadway-style musical or revue in the fall,[18][19] and a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta[20] or a show of similar quality in the spring.
With the guidance of professional directors, Penn Players produces two major shows each year, a musical in the fall and a straight play in the spring, in the Harold Prince Theater of the Annenberg Center.
Unlike many of its Ivy peers, Penn was not founded with the intention of preparing men for ministerial vocations, nor was the university affiliated with any one particular religious body.
Notable professors include John DiIulio of Penn's Political Science Department, the first Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
The CHORDS initiative, led jointly by the Associate Chaplain and a student board, organize service efforts with faith-based groups in the West Philadelphia community.
