If you are reading this in Happy Valley, you know we’ve arrived at spring break. There are suddenly about 45,000 fewer humans around. In New York City, Philadelphia or Pittsburgh that wouldn’t be noticed, but around here that’s close to half the population. It’s as if the Marvel Avengers came to life and Thanos snapped his fingers while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet. Blip – they’re gone.
A rite of passage since the 1930s for college students everywhere, spring break gives our Penn State students the opportunity to get away from our usual freezing temperatures and travel to warmer climates such as Daytona Beach, Panama City and South Padre Island in this country, and Cabo San Lucas and Cancún in Mexico. They might even engage in a little partying while they’re there.
However, there are Penn State students who are using their spring break time in different ways. Victoria Francois is executive director of the Alternative Spring Breaks program which is part of the larger Penn State Alternative Breaks series. These break activities are “designed to encourage personal growth, promote civic engagement and enrich the lives of participants by immersing them in a new community around issues of social justice.”
While their brethren are off in sunny climes enjoying beaches, music and libations, right now Victoria and her companions are providing community service work in Allentown where they are supporting the Valley Youth House that helps young people build foundations for future growth and independence. And another group of Penn State students is in Jonesville, Virginia, where they are supporting the Appalachia Service Project that makes critical home repairs for families in central Appalachia.
The rest of us, however, are still in Happy Valley, although we did get a nice reprieve this weekend when temperatures soared well into the 60’s. But if you’re feeling a little melancholy about not experiencing those temperatures every day and need some tongue-in-cheek humor describing why Pennsylvania is better than Florida, a few years ago I wrote 24 reasons that Happy Valley has it all over Orlando. Or if you are looking for the perfect list of things to do while the students are gone, I also wrote a Townie Top Ten Bucket List of things you should consider doing.
But before you know it, this weekend will arrive, everyone will return and we’ll get on with spring semester, some students for the final time in their lives. Then they’ll move on into the working world. Except, between now and graduation, what extracurricular activities can they engage in? Besides the obvious house parties and bar tours? THON has come and gone. The unsanctioned State Patty’s Day is in the past. Yes, the real St. Patrick’s Day is a week from Thursday, and Movin’ On is in a few weeks. But what else goes on between now and April 29, 2022 when spring semester ends?
It makes me reminisce about my senior year at Penn State – spring 1981 – and the options we had for excitement and involvement. Looking back, we had, in no particular order:
The Phi Psi 500: This was a 1-mile (give-or-take!) running race on a Saturday that started at the Phi Psi fraternity house on Locust Lane, wound downtown and then went through five bars – the Phyrst, Rego’s, Rathskeller, Shandygaff and Brewery — before returning to Phi Psi house. At each bar the runner ran into the bar, paid a quarter for a beer (or soda), chugged it and then continued running. Total entries were limited to 1,800 people. At the start of the race the serious runners were released in small groups at timed intervals, but later the groups were judged for their costumes and crazy antics. Spectators lined the streets of downtown to watch the zaniness.
Movin’ On: A rarity in that this event still exists and is going strong in essentially the same format today. In 1981, it was a two-day event on a Saturday and Sunday, showcasing seven bands each day. It switched to a single day in 1984 after Penn State changed from a 10-week term academic calendar system to a 15-week semester system which meant spring semester ended earlier. And the location has changed. In 1981 it was on the HUB lawn; now it’s north of Park Avenue on the IM fields. Otherwise, it’s still a great outdoor music festival for the students.
Sy Barash Regatta: The Regatta was on a Sunday at Stone Valley and had six bands performing that year. It was named in memory of the local businessman and philanthropist Sy Barash, a former president of Beta Sigma Beta, who died of cancer in 1979. There were tug-o-war contests and canoe races. Buses left the HUB every 20 minutes to transport students out to the lake and back. The bonus was it made us students aware of the great recreational resource we had available to us in Lake Perez and the surrounding area.
The Briarwood Bash: Another full-day music festival that was held on a Saturday at the Briarwood Apartment complex on the corner of Waupelani Drive and Whitehall Road. Similar to the transportation system for the Regatta, CATA provided extra service to encourage students to take the bus to this popular event. Of course, if you lived in the Briarwood Apartments you had a front row seat!
Horizons: 1981 was the first year for this spring festival that offered a variety of speakers, forums, recreational activities, art, musical events and informational tables. Sponsored by several student government organizations it went for three days – Friday, Saturday and Sunday – and was so extensive that the program listing took up an entire page in the Daily Collegian.
Gentle Thursday: A one-day event on the HUB lawn that took place on a, you guessed it, Thursday. It was not an event in 1981 as its final occurrence was the previous year, but about 40 mellow diehard fans sat on the lawn in the rain on a Thursday anyway and held an impromptu version.
Greek Week: This weeklong series of competitions had been named “Spring Week” until the previous year when it became apparent most of the participants were from sororities and fraternities. Although it was still open to anyone it was sponsored by IFC and Panhel and consisted of The Trivia Bowl, Chariot Races, Skits, a Block Party and a game called Assassin where the winner received the Golden Gun Award.
Residence Hall Weeks: Not to be outdone by the Greeks, each of the individual residence hall areas had their own “Week” of activities including their own outdoor concerts. North Week was probably the most notorious because of their infamous Emperor of the North competition which included dozens of weird and off-beat tasks the participants had to accomplish – including “climbing” the Mall, and walking to Walker Building and back in a diving mask and fins.
Among all these widely-known events were a few niche events that gave students additional ways to spend their leisure time. These included the Sigma Pi Open golf tournament on the Blue Course, the Acacia Road Rally, Tau Epsilon Phi’s Night At the Races, Kappa Delta Rho’s soccer tournament, Delta Chi’s marathon, the Penn State Marketing Association’s two-mile and 10K running races, the Undine Rodeo in Bellefonte, and last but not least, the PSU Dairy Expo that included a milking contest, calf dressing, and a milk chugging contest for those not interested in chugging beers in the Phi Psi 500!
Maybe there are still plenty of activities for the students these days and I’m just removed from the information loop, but it certainly seems like we had a few more ways to enjoy our downtime back then. Perhaps the powers-that-be would consider bringing back the Phi Psi 500 now that the Beer Mile has official rules and regulations!
