2008 Woodie Awards
Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: Opinion
Editorial | A better preview of Penn
Opinion Board
Penn Previews is the time for the University to make its best impression on accepted students - and their parents.
Which leads us to wonder why administrators would want to hold one of the Penn Preview days on the Friday of Spring Fling.
Seeing college students drinking at 10 a.m. may convince high-school seniors to come here, but it's only a turnoff to most parents.
And since parents are often helping foot the bill for their children's education, the University is effectively hampering its own marketing efforts.
The solution is simple. Administrators need to stop hosting Penn Previews on the Friday of Fling.
It's not that the University should try to hide Fling or pretend that it doesn't exist. But parents and students who come here the Friday of Fling get an extremely skewed version of what life is like on campus - especially if that's their first or only visit to Penn.
After all, it makes sense that when the University is trying to attract students, the least it can do is avoid scaring away their parents.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 5
Penn Mom
posted 4/16/08 @ 12:19 PM EST
Duh! I remember when I brought my son to Penn for Penn Preview a few years ago. He, of course, was thrilled that it was Spring Fling and stayed with friends in the Quad. (Continued…)
Alum
posted 4/16/08 @ 2:40 PM EST
Hopefully, new Admissions Dean Eric Furda will have the good sense to correct this scheduling blunder in future years.
Penn student
posted 4/16/08 @ 4:23 PM EST
I remember going down Locust last Friday and seeing Penn Previews and Fling intersecting each other really awkwardly. I thought to myself, "Why did they schedule these at the same time?" I dunno, I'd be all for having Fling scaled down, or at least have the administration deal with all the open drinking that goes on, but that's just me talking. (Continued…)
Penn Senior
posted 4/16/08 @ 4:57 PM EST
The REAL solution - naive though it might be to hope for - would be for the University to actually take a stance against drunkenness, substance abuse and illegal activity rather than turning a blind eye saying, "Kids will just be kids. (Continued…)
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