The smoke from a barbecue wafted around students crammed onto 13th Street taking in the sights, sounds and tastes of this year’s Spring Fling street fair.
Students brought their pets to campus and broke out their cameras and video recorders, maybe in hopes of a “Spring Fling Girls Gone Wild” video. Students were definitely wearing less, but what may be burned into everyone’s mind was the Pro-Life banner along Berks Mall.
For some students, the fair left much to be desired. Despite the availability of rock climbing and pie contests, live music and free food, students that braved the 90-degree heat and blazing sun on Tuesday, April 16, were left unsatisfied.
For sophomore Lauren Bertelson, this year’s Spring Fling didn’t seem like anything extravagant.
“It doesn’t feel like anything changed from last year, just all the vendors were more expensive,” she said. “It seems like it’s the same things as Fall Fest, just warmer with more skin. There needs to be more differentiation between two.”
With finals and graduation in the near future, Bertelson thought the festival should have been longer and more exciting.
“It’s the last hoorah before finals,” Bertelson said. “I think the best part about it is watching the drunk frat boys walk around, and seeing everybody outside, especially people you haven’t seen in a while.”
Campus police were stricter this year with alcohol. All bags were checked for alcohol at the dorms, but no arrests were entered into the police log.
Even though it was his first experience with Temple’s annual celebration, freshman James Saul was left unimpressed.
“I thought it was nuts on campus today. [Spring Fling] was a cool concept, but kind of banal,” he said as he walked around with the highlight of his first Spring Fling experience: a goldfish he won at the Phi Alpha Delta dart game.
“I just thought there were plenty of other things they could have done with that money that could have catered to a wider range of students. It kind of got tired after a while,” Saul said.
Bertelson also felt more could have done to make the festival more memorable.
“I’ve gone to spring flings at other schools, and they have brought in bands and everything,” she said. “I hope Temple does something along those lines next year.”
Rachel Maisler can be reached at rmaisler@temple.edu
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