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 David Dacus |
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| Paige Younkins (HTS) gets soaked in the water balloon relay during last year's Festival Behind the Fence. |
It's the carnival of the Techies, by the Techies, for the Techies ... the spring celebration for everyone who misses participating in potato sack races, watermelon seed spitting contests, and bouncing in the Moonwalk. This May, it will once again be time to escape from behind the computer terminals and release that inner five-year-old who's just screaming to be let out.
That's right. Festival Behind the Fence is coming back for another administrator-drenching, prize-winning, stress-releasing medley of sports tournaments, live music, carnival booths, and memorable contests. Last year students were allowed to shower their favorite administrators with water; who knows what treats the FBtF committee has in mind for this year's festival?
Since being integrated into the Student Center Programs Board — FBtF began as the brain child of the Residence Hall Association — the festival has undergone a face lift and some interior modifications intended to broaden the appeal of the carnival, which unfortunately suffered from lackluster attendance last year. "The students [on the FBtF committee] wanted to make Festival Behind the Fence more appealing to a variety of people," said Stephané Rebeck, Associate Program Director and Advisor to the FBtF committee. "[Their purpose is] in line with the Program Board's goal for providing quality programs which have campus-wide appeal," she added.
This year's festival will feature cultural booths, daytime performances, an evening concert, and even more carnival games than previous years. As always, campus organizations and departments are invited to register teams for the various athletic competitions. Keep reading The Technique for more information about registration; the Student Center will also release flyers soon.
FBtF certainly has its share of enthusiastic fans. Students and administrators alike look forward to the spring carnival. President Clough himself is a big supporter of FBtF. "Having attended both of the [previous] Festivals Behind the Fence, I enjoyed myself thoroughly. Where else could I douse Terry Sichta and Jack Vickery but in the Festival's shower ball toss event?" Where else indeed, Mr. President? Perhaps this year students will find you under the spray. The President continues, "I hope more faculty and staff will join us this year. The more the merrier!"
Many students look upon the festival as an excellent community activity and a great way to foster campus spirit. The day long event brings together a myriad of eclectic groups, many of whom have widely differing philosophies. The meshing of all types of Tech students makes for a fascinating and entertaining event.
The FBtF committee has yet to announce a date for the festival. "We are choosing the date very carefully since we do not want FBtF to conflict with other popular long-standing events," commented Bill Tranmer, Chairman of the 1998 FBtF committee. The date should be released on February 20.
The largest driving force behind the current and previous successes of FBtF has undoubtedly been community support. Student involvement is a key factor in a successful festival, and the committee is delighted at Tech's warm acceptance of the event. Tranmer stated, "Despite FBtF's short history, the students and faculty have had no difficulty in using the Festival as a springboard for fun." Any students who would like to be more directly involved in preparations for FBtF should contact Tranmer via e-mail at gt8367a@prism. Committee meetings are held on Sundays at 7:00 p.m. in the Student Center Program area.