1. #TBT “Spring is sprung: the Fling is flung”
Spring time during the 70’s and 80’s were times of extreme excitement at Shippensburg University. With
spring came the annual “Spring Fling” gala was hosted by Sigma Pi. The gala became such a huge event that by
the 10th Annual Spring Fling in 1982 there were college age students coming from all over the country to enjoy
the festivities.
This photo from the 1982 Slate shows the gala
attendances surrounding the stage with kegs,
blankets, and coolers strewn across the ground.
Source: The Slate, April 27, 1982. Shippensburg
University Archives & Special Collections, Ezra
Lehman Memorial Library, Shippensburg
University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.
To ensure that the 10th Annual Spring Fling would be the biggest and best yet, the event was advertised in
newspapers in all of the big PSAC schools around the state. The Flashlight newspaper out of Mansfield (shown
below) explains the details of the event. The gala was “strictly a ‘Bring-your-own’ affair” and tickets were sold
in advance and at the entrance. The Edge, Second Wind, and Great Train Robbery were the opening acts for
the heavy-metal band KIX.
The example of ad placed by the Shippensburg
chapter of Sigma Pi in the student newspapers
across the state.
Source: The Flashlight, April 22, 1982. Mansfield
University of Pennsylvania, History, Mansfield
State College Periodicals, Mansfield,
Pennsylvania.

2. The bands who came to the gala were a huge calling card to the Spring Fling but so was the drinking, drugs,
and other activities. The bands which they brought to the 10th Annual Spring Fling were well-known artists
who, they hoped, would bring in large crowds. The previous year had seen 7,000 people in attendance and
Sigma Pi intended to up the number as much as possible.
Great Training Robbery was one of the well-
known bands who Sigma Pi had playing at their
event.
Source: The Slate, April 27, 1982. Shippensburg
University Archives & Special Collections, Ezra
Lehman Memorial Library, Shippensburg
University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.
The Spring Fling, which advertised itself as a “Bring-your-own” event, offered a day of relaxing and sunbathing
before finals and the summer holiday began. The enormous event brought people out for a day of relaxing
and, more importantly to some, drinking. However, with so much alcohol and drugs going around the farm
grounds, issues of controlling the 12,000 people who had come to the event from all over the country became
more and more of an issue.
This picture shows a partier who is arriving at the
event with his keg and looking for a place to relax
for the day.
Source: The Slate, April 27, 1982. Shippensburg
University Archives & Special Collections, Ezra
Lehman Memorial Library, Shippensburg
University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.
After finding a good place for their keg, gala
attenders would spend the day drinking.
Source: The Slate, April 27, 1982. Shippensburg
University Archives & Special Collections, Ezra
Lehman Memorial Library, Shippensburg
University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.

3. Not all ended in fun and games at the 10th Annual Spring Fling. After $3,500 worth of property damage and
vandalism was accumulated, over 20 drunk driving arrests were made, a police car and ambulance were
stolen, substantial drug use lead to medical emergencies, and the “Conrail switching station” was set on fire,
Shippensburg Borough police and Shippensburg University passed laws and ordinances against something like
the Spring Fling ever happening again in Shippensburg, or the neighboring townships, boroughs, or counties.
The article from the Gettysburg Times explaining
the aftermath of the 1982 Spring Fling.
Source: The Gettysburg Times, Wednesday, April
25, 1982. The Gettysburg Times, Vol. 80, No. 198,
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
This blog from the Shippensburg Fire and EMS
shows more details from the 10th
Annual Spring
Fling which was the final gala hosted by the
Shippensburg Sigma Pi.
Source: Shippensburg Fire and EMS History, April
24, 2008. Spring Fling Brings Multiple Runs,
shippensburgfiredepartment.blogspot.com,
Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.
Want to learn more about Ship's history? No need to wait for the next Throwback Thursday! Contact Archives
& Special Collections via e-mail: specialcollections@ship.edu or phone: 717-477-1516.

4. Sources:
The Flashlight, April 22, 1982. Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, History, Mansfield State College
Periodicals, Mansfield, Pennsylvania.
The Gettysburg Times, Wednesday, April 25, 1982. The Gettysburg Times, Vol. 80, No. 198, Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania.
The Slate, April 27, 1982. Shippensburg University Archives & Special Collections, Ezra Lehman Memorial
Library, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.
Shippensburg Fire and EMS History, April 24, 2008. Spring Fling Brings Multiple Runs,
shippensburgfiredepartment.blogspot.com, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.