Penn community of many minds on being named top party school

The day after the improbable news came out that Playboy had ranked the University of Pennsylvania as the top party school in the nation, the mood on Locust Walk was, like many things in the Ivies, mixed.

There was pride: Penn had accomplished what no other Ivy League school had done - make the list. Not only that, Penn debuted at No. 1. Playboy has published such a list nine times since 1987, when California State University, Chico, took home the prize.

Sophomore communications major Hope Mackenzie said she was among the many who felt honored by the designation.

"It was pretty surprising to the student body. We feel honored in a weird kind of way," Mackenzie said on Tuesday, adding: "We're a fun group of people."

Junior communications major Selena Caruso agreed with Playboy's logic.

"I thought it was kind of funny when I first saw it," Caruso said. "I started to think about it, and seeing Penn as kind of unique for a number of reasons, because it's in Philadelphia . . . we have a whole campus and city to explore."

There was disassociation.

A university spokesman said the school would not comment on the rankings, and discouraged reporters from talking to anyone on campus.

Hard to fault the school brass for not talking. After all, the magazine (due out Friday) introduces Penn with: "Smarties can party too, and UPenn puts other Ivies to shame with its union of brains, brewskies and bros. Boasting a notorious underground frat scene that school officials have deemed a nuisance . . ."

There was skepticism.

"I think it's more of a publicity stunt on Playboy's side," said Ryan Greenberg, 19, a physics major. "Putting an Ivy League school at the top of their ranking is really just a way to get more people to read the article."

There was defiance.

The Daily Pennsylvanian student newspaper went with a two-paragraph blog item that began:

"Finally, after all the meaningless rankings, Penn has scored the number one slot that validates years of clinging to the idea of the 'social ivy.' According to the people who know how to throw down, and how to convince women to wear less clothing and more animal ears, Penn has the top party scene in the nation. It's about damn time."

Finally, there was acceptance.

Finance major Karan Hiremath said Penn students have a chance to capitalize off a golden opportunity.

"I'd love to see it if we put it on our resumés," Hiremath said, "if it's something that Penn students would do - that their school was ranked No. 1 on Playboy for the best party school."