Posted by Dylan Bronstein
This fall, the Student Government Association's Inter-Hall Board will sponsor a new, school-wide, start of the semester event entitled "Fall Fun Day," in reference to the popular Skidmore tradition of "Fun Day," a weekend day in the spring semester to relieve stress before finals week and serve as an early going-away party for the senior class.
Fall Fun Day, which will take place from noon to 5 p.m. on September 15 on the South Green, will be a scaled-down version of the traditional Fun Day, with fewer inflatable attractions and only one of the usual music venues.
Students reacted well to the announcement of a Fall Fun Day.
"I'm super excited for Fall Fun Day, because of naps and drama!" Charlotte Cramer '15 said. Tory Waldron '15 added, "I'm excited for Fall Fun Day because last year I couldn't go on the moon bounce."
Many spring athletes deprived of the Fun Day experience because of athletic commitments will be able to attend this event, along with many students who are planning to go abroad in the spring semester.
According to SGA, The event will not have cotton candy machines, as is typical of Fun Day in the spring, but it will have a moon bounce and live music. The bands Los Elk, Beardo and Campo are scheduled to play, as well as the DJs JJ/Andrew, Jake Donahue and Stephan Cocorelis. Food will also be provided. The event has been estimated to have a bill of approximately $5,500, around $4,000 less than Fun Day proper.
"We're having a Fall Fun Day because a lot of students made an argument last year that there's no large social college gathering early in the college semester," said Robin Adams, associate director of Leadership Activities. "This was their attempt to get the student body together."
Before Fall Fun Day, the largest campus event of its kind during the fall semester was the Moorebid Ball, a dance that takes place on Halloween weekend. Last year, Moorebid was shut down for the second year in a row due to dangerous overcrowding of around 1,400 students between the Recreational and Dance gyms.
"The argument is that Moorebid is the first crazy event that we have, so the hope is that a Fall Fun Day would temper some of the rowdiness that explodes during Moorebid," Adams said. "I'm not sure that I personally subscribe to the idea that one event will translate to better behavior at another event, but enough students have said it, and theoretically they know their mindset better than anybody. I'm willing to try it."
These students, who campaigned at the end of last year for a Fall Fun Day and organized it over the summer and the beginning of the school year, include SGA members Jessica Sonnenfeld '14, the vice president of Residential Affairs, who spearheaded the project. Sonnenfeld said the idea of a Fall Fun Day stemmed from talks about how to go about the Moorebid situation.
However, when asked why they decided to have Fall Fun Day, SGA President Matt Walsh dismissed any relation to the October tradition.
"It's why we do any event," he said, "to provide an outlet for fun and excitement because classes are hard. We're not considering Moorebid as part of Fall Fun Day at all."
Despite rumors that Fall Fun Day is replacing Moorebid, Sonnenfeld confirmed that Moorebid plans for this semester are in the making.
"Just because we're having fall Fun Day this year doesn't mean that we're going to have it every subsequent year," Walsh said. "We're just trying it out. Fun Day has been successful, and if we want an event at the start of the year, why not start with something we know how to do."