Beach Weekend back this April

On the weekend of April 23, the over forty-year-old Furman tradition of Beach Weekend will return after a one-year hiatus.Beach Weekend is an unofficial, unsanctioned, student-led event that has traditionally taken place Mother's Day weekend in May. During the weekend, fraternities and other major campus organizations plan for their members and friends to go to Myrtle Beach by renting places to stay, hiring bands and organizing parties.

"It's always been a hidden gem of the Furman experience," said Jake Ogle, the former President of the Inter-Fraternity Council.

Although Beach Weekend is inclusive of all Furman students, IFC has traditionally taken a leading role by deciding its date. This posed a big problem when the new academic calendar in 2008-2009 ended the school year a month earlier than in the past and Beach Weekend's customary date conflicted with graduation.

Ogle said the main reason Beach Weekend didn't occur last year was because the schedule change eliminated the month of May from spring term.

"We couldn't find a good time to do it," he said. IFC didn't want to hold Beach Weekend during a fraternity or sorority formal or other event, and the resulting scheduling challenge proved insurmountable.

IFC, which consists of the presidents of Furman's six fraternities and an executive council of three elected members from the Greek community, kept this experience in mind when coordinating this year's schedules. Ogle said that the decision was made in early fall to make time for Beach Weekend. The agreed-upon weekend is April 23-25, which is the weekend before final exams.

Ogle said there was a concern that Beach Weekend might fade away if it were not brought back this year. If it did end, it would mark the end of a tradition that began in 1968.

Benny Walker, the Special Assistant to the President of Furman, said in an email that prior to that year the fraternities went to the mountains for one night for their "spring fling." As the president of Tau Kappa Epsilon, he asked permission from the dean to have two nights so that his fraternity could go to the beach. After no one was arrested, everyone else copied them the following year.

Although Beach Weekend was originally blessed by the administration, it is now only tolerated.

"[When Beach Weekend first came up for discussion at IFC,] I knew better than to try and fight it," said Eddie Young, the Assistant Director of North Village and Greek Life and advisor to IFC. Young also said that students shouldn't skip class to go to the beach a day early.

While IFC set the date, it is up to the fraternities and other organizations to make reservations and plans. For instance, Sigma Alpha Epsilon President Bobby Shelley said that his fraternity has reserved 60 rooms at The Oceanfront Viking Motel at Myrtle Beach and intends to line up some bands. While some rooms are reserved for brothers, the rest can be purchased from SAE without a markup.

Beach Weekend is not an exclusive event. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is one non-Greek organization that is making plans to participate.

"We were a little hesitant because we didn't want to be the only group that is doing it," said FCA President Addison Howard. FCA is planning to rent several beach houses that hold 10-15 people each for any members and friends who wish to come.

Howard said that he expects the FCA group to be larger than in the past because fewer religious groups are planning to attend. As of press time, FCA and every fraternity except for Sigma Chi had confirmed they planning for Beach Weekend. Sig Chi President Bryan Burack said in an email that scheduling conflicts forced his fraternity to hold their formal on that weekend.

"We're all disappointed that we can't attend and we support the resurrection of Beach Weekend fully; hopefully next year the scheduling will fall into place better," Burack said.

While Beach Weekend might not be as large an event this year as it has been, there is at least one upside to the new date.

"The best part is, it's not on Motorcycle Week anymore," said former Pi Kap President Alistair Hay, referring to the annual rally of bikers that has typically taken place at the same time.

Hay, who was involved in the discussions to bring Beach Weekend back, attended it both freshman and sophomore year.

"It's a real blast," he said. "Beach Weekend is when you can get your closest 60 or 100 friends in a hotel on the beach and just have fun.