Flunk Day
Flunk Day is tomorrow.
Flunk Day is an annual event where, by surprise, all classes are canceled. A day's worth of carnival-like activities are planned.
Contents
Flunk days past and present
A typical Flunk Day
In truth, there may be no such thing as a "typical" Flunk Day. However, some things have come to be expected.
Friars
A typical Flunk Day begins with students being woken up by Friars. Friars are seniors, usually drunk, wearing Flunk Day shirts and blowing whistles to wake everyone up.
The mud pit
Long despised by Flunk Day planners, perhaps because of its residential setting in the Quads, the mud pit is a cherished tradition for many students. Usually located in the courtyard in front of Conger-Neal, near the Intercultural Life Center, the mud pit is made by enterprising students with trash cans full of water. This water, dumped into one area, makes mud. And then people jump in it, and throw others into it, and make out in it.
Danger!
The mud pit can be hazardous. Broken glass sometimes cuts people. One girl I knew broke her arm in the mud pit in 2005. Cuts, scrapes, and bruises are common, mud pit-related injuries.
Protest
In 2007, the mud pit was the subject of controversy when two students lay down in front of a Facilities Services bulldozer to prevent it from filling in the prematurely-created mud pit with sand.
Foam pit
The foam pit is the official answer to the mud pit. Intended to replace the mud pit, in early years it was located near the mud pit, but it got too dirty and was moved to a location near CFA.
Meals
All three meals are served outside, probably to prevent the cafeteria from getting muddy.
Inflatables
A variety of inflatables and carnival-type games are erected on the lawn south of Seymour Hall.
Bike Ride
Students who aren't drunk can go on a bike ride to Lake Storey. So can students who are drunk.
Movie/activities
Flunk Day usually features other activities, such as a movie or a band performance. These activities may be suddenly and frustratingly canceled in the event of rain, as in 2006.
Date
There is always speculation about the date of Flunk Day. Some people say the date moves depending on the weather or whether students already know it's Flunk Day. The logic behind this notion goes that if too many people know it's Flunk Day before the date, they will get drunk the night before and be more likely to get alcohol poisoning during the day.
This notion may just be an effect of the scare-letdown dynamic that the speculation creates for students. Some say that the date for Flunk Day is fixed from the beginning.
The E-mail
At some point during every spring term, Xavier Romano sends out an email with a list of safety precautions regarding the coming flunk day. This, or the email sent at around 5:45 on Flunk Day itself, may be referred to as the "Flunk Day email".
In 2006, the email was sent out the day before Flunk Day (some say to preeempt scares) leading to rumors in 2007 that Flunk Day would happen before the safety email was sent out.
The Hotline
If you don't have access to your email, you can also dial the flunk day hotline at 8008 to find out if it's Flunk day.
Who knows about Flunk Day?
Union Board plans Flunk Day, and only select members of the board know the date. This year, one of those members in Sean Fors. But please don't pester him any more. He is not going to tell you.
Xavier Romano also knows when Flunk day is. But his wife Vicky does not. No she doesn't.
Scares
For current scare information, consult Flunk day 2007
Most years there are one or more Flunk Day scares. Some scares are intentionally instigated and perpetuated by a student, or more commonly, a group of students. Some scares occur spontaneously, when a given date is widely rumored to be Flunk Day. Scares may be corroborated by a variety of evidence.
Lawn-mowing
This piece of evidence has been cited booth ways. The grass being mowed the day before a candidate date has been cited as evidence as well as the grass not being mowed. Vicky Romano says they mow the grass every day, which would take care of at least half of this criterion.
The Mailroom
The night before Flunk Day 2006, Union Board stuffed student mailboxes early enough that students were able to discover the items before the mailroom closed. Some say precautions will be taken in the future, but lights on a closed mailroom have been cited as evidence on at least one occasion.
Friars
In past years, evidence of friars being picked up (a van driving around campus, sudden absence of seniors) has been cited. However, for 2007, friars will be alerted the morning of Flunk Day, eliminating this criterion.
Controversy
Flunk Day is the source of much controversy because many students get very drunk. Every year, somebody (or somebodies) gets hurt and goes to the hospital. Every year, people say that Flunk Day might get canceled. The rumor spreads easily because the injuries and alcohol use are a liability for the college.
However, Knox President Roger Taylor stated in an article in The Knox Student that only about 100 people drink excessively on Flunk Day.
He is almost definitely wrong. Or his understanding of what constitutes 'excessive' drinking goes well beyond even students' standards of inebriation.
