Because of uncooperative weather, Saturday’s “Spring Jam Block Party” – which closed Spring Jam week – ended early.

Four bands were supposed to play but only two performed because of increasing rainfall. They started playing two hours early and stopped at 8 p.m., instead of 1 a.m. as scheduled.

The day’s other events – band finals, Ballyhoo finals and Spring Jam coronation – occurred as scheduled.

Despite the circumstances, the Spring Jam committee and students at the block party said the week had been successful.

“It was a great week. Unfortunately, it’s so dependent on the weather, but people still had fun and that’s what counts,” senior and planning committee co-chairman Dave Hansen said.

Senior Erin Bertagnoli, planning committee co-chairwoman, said the amount of people who showed up at the events impressed her. She said this year’s Spring Jam had better talent, better turnout and more spirit and excitement than last year’s event.

Approximately 150 people went to the block party’s band performances, a decrease from last year that Bertagnoli attributed to the weather.

“Overall, it was a great success even though the weather blew,” first-year student Jeff Merkel said. He said he enjoyed the event and looks forward to future Spring Jams.

Sophomore Derek Farder said Spring Jam went pretty well and he enjoyed it more than last year because he knew more people in the competitions.

When the block party ended, Farder said he was going to find friends and hang out for the rest of the evening.

Senior Fiyyaz Karim and sophomore Amanda Hawes were crowned Spring Jam Ambassadors.

The Spring Jam committee received extremely positive feedback for its increased focus on philanthropy events this year, said Jay Arcuri, Student Activities Office program adviser.

He said an event with Homeward Bound, an adult group home company, was a huge success.

Residence halls and greek teams collected personal care items for the residents. The teams also took residents out for movies and to play softball, Arcuri said.

“We got letters from the residence halls and the greeks saying how much they loved the event and the personal impact it had on them,” Arcuri said.

The committee offered three different philanthropy events to give groups more options and time to focus their efforts, he said.

“Spring Jam is about building community – not only at the University, but within the community as a whole,” he said.