| April 12–April 18, 2006, Number 390
ParentNET
Spring Fling is in the air! One of the most appreciated seasonal transitions in the Upper Peninsula is the arrival of spring. During this week, Michigan Tech students are getting ready to celebrate the ending of winter by preparing for MTU Spring Fling 2006. If your student has already attended classes here for a year, than you may already be familiar with what Spring Fling entails. However, if you’re new to the list or new to being a college student parent, then this article will help explain what’s going on this week if you’ve never heard of our Spring Fling traditions before.
According to the Spring Fling website (http://www.sa.mtu.edu/springfling), there are more new and exciting events that will be going on this year than there have been in the past. There are plans for a water balloon fight, slip and slide, inflatables, bands, bowling and billiards tournaments, a comedian, and a free outside movie. Of course the major attraction will be the famous “oozeball” (which is outdoor mud volleyball played where the broomball rinks were located this winter) sponsored by MTSF (the Michigan Tech Student Foundation, a student organization on campus). Staff/faculty and students alike come together all day on Friday to participate in the big oozeball tournament. Oozeball is definitely not for people who don’t like to get dirty!
The biggest part of Spring Fling each year is the student organization booths that will be located along all the main sidewalks on campus. I have worked at a booth for several organizations over the years, and it’s always a great time! The service organization that I am a part of, called Circle K, usually holds a booth for recruitment and for an annual fundraiser for a local charity. Many Greek organizations also have recruitment booths and hold activities, along with all the other student organizations on campus. One of the best parts is that if your student just walks around to take it all in and visit with their friends, they can get a lot of free stuff!  If your student is involved in a student organization that you think might be interested in participating in Spring Fling, they should have registered by now because booth registration closed last Friday. Otherwise, if your student has never gone out and experienced Spring Fling before, tell them to walk around campus, pick up some food, and enjoy it because rumor has it the weather should be beautiful. It gives us hope that spring (and summer vacation) is truly around the corner!
Until next week,
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Spring Fling will take place on Friday of this week. Classes will maintain their normal schedules unless your student’s professors have already planned otherwise. Activities will start taking place in the afternoon all around outside on campus. In case of inclement weather, Spring Fling will take place in the SDC athletic complex. However, since I’ve been a student here for the past four years, we haven’t had to hold it indoors yet (knock on wood)!
Another cool new event this year will be the pig roast and root beer kegs, along with the major debut of MTU Idol. America has been so captivated by this national competition craze that now it has taken over MTU’s campus. MTU Idol try-outs have already taken place, but the final competition will be held during Spring Fling, and the winner will be declared by the end of the day on Friday. A $500 cash prize will be awarded to the winner, so if your student is participating, I wish them the best of luck!