INSIDE BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY
Students celebrate the end of winter at Spring Fling
About 5,000 people turned out for the campus festival, said Bill Kroll, assistant director of campus activities, who served as co-chair of the planning committee with student Adam Cohn.
“Last year, we got busy around 1:30-2 p.m.,” Kroll said. “This year, we were busy from noon on. It was raining at some point, but no one left.”
In addition to the ferris wheel and other rides, 54 student groups signed up to host tables at the event, including Tau Epsilon Phi, which held a car smash to raise funds for charity. The Alumni Association provided free fried dough at the festival.
The event also included the traditional Stepping on the Coat, which has been a right of spring since 1962, when Harpur student Larry Kressel ’66, defied an April snowfall by flinging his coat to the ground, stomping on it and vowing not to wear it again that spring. According to campus tradition, the snow stopped and the sun came out. The ritual has become a vital part of the campus’s transition from winter snows to spring sunshine.
Despite occasional rain on Saturday, planners saw increased participation this year, The festival ended with a performance by Less than Jake, attended by about 2,000 people.
