Spring Fling is a longstanding tradition on the Hill that is eagerly anticipated by freshmen and seniors alike, providing a few hours of fun and relaxation before the onslaught of finals and papers that mark the end of the semester. Jumbos are fortunate enough to have a beautiful outdoor facility for the day of music on the President's Lawn, which has the capacity to accommodate all interested students with plenty of room to spare.
Unfortunately, Tufts has no indoor location with similar capacity. Because of this, when it rains, like it did two years ago and threatens to this year, the Fling must be cancelled for lack of an appropriate facility. What a shame: the amount of time invested by all the students involved in the planning effort, as well as the hopes of the entire student body, can be washed down the drain by a common spring shower. It is foolish to plan each Spring Fling as if April showers will not occur; they have before and most likely will continue to occur again. Both the concert board and the University administration, in conjunction with community members, need to work out an acceptable rain plan.
The largest indoor space on this campus is the Gantcher Family Sports and Convocation Center, which is attached to the athletic facilities and can hold some 6,000 people. So why, many students might ask, would the event not be held at that venue in case of rain? When Tufts built Gantcher it made a commitment to community members that there would be no concerts there in order to preserve the alleged peace and quiet that had existed in the neighborhood prior to the indoor track's November 1999 completion.
But it doesn't seem to be asking too much to have a live performance once a year (if needed) at Gantcher. After all, Spring Fling occurs during the day, so it is unlikely that the recitations of Busta Rhymes will have any significant impact on Medford residents getting their shut-eye. Surely a daytime concert would be no more disturbing than the recent Fall Ball and Winter Bash, which featured very loud DJs who mixed well past the midnight hour.
When the recent Gantcher-hosted mega-dances are taken into account, the proposal to fling in Gantcher does not seem unreasonable, but the restrictions on its use do. While community members certainly have the right to tranquility, one is hard-pressed to see how residents would be worse off with an indoor concert at Gantcher than with beats blasting from an outdoor stage.
Of course, a far simpler solution would be to have the show outside even if it does rain. The electrical storms of two years ago precluded this from happening, but a little drizzle shouldn't be a good reason stop the show this year (especially considering that outdoor amphitheaters routinely hold rain or shine events). Hopefully a little rain, sans winds or lightning, won't spoil this campus's picnic on Saturday.
