What do you get when you mix a few thousand people, loud music, free food, the world’s largest pillow fight, and a huge fountain? Fountain Day 2005 at the University at Albany, of course. Every year, the fountain’s debut is a huge deal, with people going crazy on campus to help break up the final stretch of the spring semester.
Last year’s event, however, was marred with injuries and other incidents. To combat this, University officials deemed this year’s event as “safe fun,” making students register beforehand and sign a pledge to uphold a “safe day.” Outside, security and law enforcement officials were brought in to help maintain a baseline level of safety, as well.
Sunday’s event delivered—for the most part—its pledge for both safety and fun. The combination of a self-proclaimed safe day with an attempt at a record-setting pillow fight was bizarre, to say the least.
The pillow-laden frenzy kicked off around 2 pm, as thousands converged on the grassy rotunda of Collins Circle, pillow in hand, waiting for the signal. When the air horn went off, mayhem erupted.
People were bashing each other with pillows for as far as the eye could see. Once the appropriate time had passed, everyone cast their pillows into the air.
Around 2:30, the crowd was herded toward the fountain. Students, faculty, and staff of the University who pre-registered for the event had to pick up a wristband to get admittance to the fountain level. “We have security and students in an inebriated state aren’t allowed into the fountain,” said Christine Bouchard, University Associate Vice President for Student Affairs.
There were hundreds of beach balls being bounced around, as students gathered in the fountain, splashing each other and waiting for it to turn on. The exact time of turn-on wasn’t told to students; and there was a contest to guess the exact minute between 3-4 pm in which it would erupt. Around 3:05 pm—apparently they didn’t want the students to wait too long—the DJ began the countdown, and water shot to the sky. People piled on each other and others swam in the shallow water, but everyone down on the fountain level got completely soaked.
With the University’s focus on safety, some who had been there in previous years thought the event seemed different. “It seemed calmer overall, but it’s kind of hard to compare,” said Peter Calabria ’04. “I wouldn’t say it was better; it’s not the same. It’s cool in its own way.”
“I didn’t see anyone get hurt,” added Lauren Wainer ’06.
While there were feelings that it was toned-down, everyone seemed to have a good time. People appeared to genuinely enjoy being there, and being a part of the event. There were even quite a few unique characters in attendance.
First, there were two students clad in homemade suits of armor, made from crushed beer cans and cut-up beer boxes. There was also a guy dressed up as Waldo, from the Where’s Waldo books, complete with striped hat and shirt, huge glasses, and a brown satchel.
There were also the girls from Psi Gamma, who yelled at our photographer, “Hey, camera, come take a picture of us!”—yes, they actually called him “camera”—without even knowing what the picture was for, or where it would wind up.
Fountain Day 2005, despite whatever drawbacks one might find in it, was still enthusiastically attended by many. People wanted to be there, and that’s not something that can be said about events here at Rensselaer.
