By Heather Weaver, Assistant Director of Student Engagement

Spring Fling 2012 was a huge success—hundreds of students, staff, faculty, alumni and guests participated in four days of events. (View photos.) Everyone enjoyed tons of free food, novelties and entertainment. Whether students were cheering for their favorite act at Lip Sync, supporting their friends dancing in the Knight Club Show, making a stuffed animal at Blitz or rocking out to Young the Giant at Woodstock, the buzz on campus is that this was one of the best Spring Fling weekends yet. But many people do not know how much work goes into making this weekend happen or how to get involved in planning the next one.

Campus Activities Programmer Jessica Trump and the Office of Student Engagement facilitate a student committee called the Blitz Committee. This group of 20 students spent months meeting to decide all of the details of the event. Everything from the theme to the design of the logo to the food and novelties given away is decided by the students. The Blitz Committee is open to all students on campus. Recruitment for the Committee occurs right at the beginning of the Spring semester.

The Student Programming Board starts planning Woodstock a year in advance. The executive board and general members work on identifying potential entertainment. They spend a great deal of time looking for a wide variety of acts to appeal to the entire student body. Again, every aspect of the event is planned by the students. General member meetings are open to all students on campus and take place every other week for the entire academic year. A few weeks before the event, worker meetings are advertised so that students not involved in SPB can work the event and get perks such as more raffle tickets, a worker shirt, discounts on other merchandise and often times ability to meet the entertainment.

Each year there are several other clubs and organizations that plan events for Spring Fling Weekend. The Residence Hall Council and Knight Club have been mainstays of the Spring Fling calendar with Lip Sync and the two Knight Club performances. SPB also hosts a dance during the weekend, while the Student Government Organization now sponsors a drive-in movie. And let’s not forget that every club and organization host a table at Blitz and provide the community with crafts, games, or snacks.

Finally, many staff spent countless hours supporting the students in their endeavor to make Spring Fling a weekend to remember. Facilities and Housekeeping dedicated many staff and resources providing everything from set-up of the venues to electrician support to constant trash removal. Parkhurst provided much of the food that gets consumed at the events and put a great deal of thought into relating the food to the overall weekend theme. Public Safety is always there in the background making sure that participants in the events are safe. University Relations helped students advertise the events on and off campus and provided photographers to document the weekend in pictures.

If you are interested in getting involved to help plan Spring Fling 2013, please contact the Office of Student Engagement.