Dartmouth's unique Green Key traditions and festivities represent just one of the many ways in which schools around the country celebrate spring. Signifying the end of another academic year, spring festivals at several other colleges and universities feature big-name performers, outdoor events and arts fairs, according to student and staff coordinators at other institutions.
Music filled the air at Yale University's Spring Fling Concert, which was held on April 27 this year. Performers included Mike Posner, Matt & Kim, the Ying Yang Twins and MGMT, according to the event's website. The Yale College Council coordinated the concert.
Celebrating the final week of classes, Brown University held its 50th annual Spring Weekend from April 22 to April 25 this year. Weekend concerts included performances by Snoop Dogg, MGMT, Major Lazer, the Black Keys and Wale, according to the Brown Daily Herald.
Tickets to the shows sold out within minutes of being made available online, according to sophomore Natan Last.
"I was looking forward to the concerts," Last said. "We were on the [Main] Green for four to five hours listening to music and eating food. The vast majority of the campus turned out."
In addition to the concerts on Friday and Saturday nights, Brown's Spring Weekend celebrations included fraternity parties, private barbecues and outdoor shows, according to sophomore Gabe Paley.
"Brown takes Spring Weekend pretty seriously," Paley said. "Dave Binder does a show Sunday afternoon playing classic songs that everyone knows the words to. All the frats go outside and everyone sings along it's become a tradition."
Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology enjoyed a live concert performed by N.E.R.D. as well as a concert by electronic mash-up group Super Mash Bros. at their Spring Weekend concert on April 23, according to The Tech.
The concert, which was planned largely by student chairs, gives students an opportunity to enjoy affordable entertainment before finals, according to senior Joseph Diaz and sophomore Christine Chen, the event's student coordinators. The concert was attended by 1,400 MIT students, local college students and other members of the MIT community, they said.
"Every event has a wrench that gets thrown in its gears, but I am proud to say that our concert went by very smoothly this year," Diaz said. "The artists put on a great show and the crowd was engaged throughout the whole performance."
Nearly 15,000 students and guests participated in Spring Fling festivities at the University of Pennsylvania on April 16 and 17, according to junior Talisa de Carlo. De Carlo is the co-director of Spring Fling and a member of the Social Planning and Events Committee in Penn's student government.
Events, which were all funded by the University, featured performances by student groups and local bands, games, inflatable structures and free food from local vendors, de Carlo said. Friday night featured a live concert with performances by Snoop Dogg, KiD CuDi and Shwayze, she said.
Bentley University in Waltham, Mass. celebrated its "Spring Day" on April 24 with events ranging from a kickball tournament to "Float-a-Boat," in which participants build a boat from given materials that they race against other teams, according to the University's Student Activities Office website. Students also enjoyed a free barbecue, carnival stands and a live concert headlined by Ludacris.
"The day itself was good, but Bentley did a poor job of anticipating how many people would attend," senior Matthew Neumair said. "It caused a lot of problems with people trying to sneak guests into the concert, but everyone basically had a good time, since it's just a campus-wide party."
Other schools such as Boston College and Occidental College in Los Angeles celebrated the spring season with art festivals that showcased the talents of students, faculty and community members.
The 12th annual Boston College Arts Festival, held from April 29 to May 1 this year, brought together over 1,000 students and faculty members involved in the visual, performing and literary arts, according to the Boston College Art Council's website.
The festival, which was open to the larger Boston community, also featured activities for children, an art sale and a collaborative sculpture project that allowed visitors to design and decorate sculptures of lotus flowers, according to the website.
Occidental hosted its first Spring Arts Festival from April 21 to 25 this year, exhibiting short films, music, dance, theater performances and creative writing produced by students and local artists, according to the school's website.
The festival which was open to the public and organized by students and faculty involved in the arts included a "Wonder Cabinet" featuring artists, scientists and film editors presenting topics ranging from spatial reality to origami intended to draw connections between the arts and science, according to Occidental associate director of communications Rhea Borja.
The idea for the festival originated when Jonathan Veitch, who was appointed president of Occidental last year, suggested that the school showcase the artistic talent concentrated in the college and in the greater Los Angeles area, Borja said.
"There was a pretty good turnout, especially since there were other things going on," Borja said. "At the Wonder Cabinet,' there were people talking about the secret life of snowflakes. I kind of call it a Ringling Brothers circus for Mensa members."
