As if the end of classes was not a good enough reason to indulge in some well deserved procrastination, this weekend the Yale College Council is offering students several more reasons why they should put studying on the back burner — at least for an afternoon.
The YCC has spent $90,000 dollars and eight months planning this Sunday’s Spring Fling festivities. The event is set to start at around 11 a.m. with a barbecue lunch for students on Old Campus put together by Yale Dining Services. Half an hour later, five inflatable rides, including an obstacle course, moon bounce, and a mechanical rodeo bull, will be set up for students. From there the afternoon will progress into the student Battle of the Bands and then to the grand finale — Guster at 4 p.m.
With only two days left until the big day, YCC president Vidhya Prabhakaran ’03 said he is confident that everything will go off smoothly. The preplanning was done in a timely fashion and so there will be no last minute scramble, Prabhakaran said.
Spring Fling co-chair Brad Kahn ’04 said he has high expectations for this weekend despite what he described as the “limited budget” the committee was given.
“I think its going to be great. Spring Fling is about the Yale community all coming out to have a good time. Classes are over so it’s time to come out and relieve some stress. Everyone should come out and have a blast,” Kahn said.
And if it rains?
“Pray that it doesn’t, but if it does come ready to get wet. The stage has a roof so the show will go on as long as there is no lightning,” Kahn said.
Though the rain may put a damper on things, most students remained adamant that they would have a good time this weekend. Though acknowledging that the weather can be a very important part of the weekend, Ryan Alvarez ’03 noted that it is not vital.
“The whole weekend is a great opportunity to get to party with your friends one last time before finals,” Alvarez said.
Some students have expressed disappointment that Yale could not draw a more popular band for this year’s Spring Fling. But Shellie Weisfield ’05 had no complaints about the band choice or plans for the weekend.
“I am totally looking forward to seeing Guster, since their music is really happiness-inducing and they’re entertaining performers. And who doesn’t love bouncy houses?” Weisfield said.
While many are excited, not every student is quite so enthusiastic. Disappointed to learn that Yale could not land Sugar Ray, Kiana Jamison ’05 expressed an undeniable ambivalence toward the whole weekend.
“I don’t really give a damn about Spring Fling. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s cool that we have it but if we didn’t, I wouldn’t be crying,” said Jamison.
Prabhakaran said despite the complaints, his confidence in the potential success of the weekend is unwavering.
“Even if people don’t like the band, they should still come out,” he said. “They always have a good time.”