SGA Crab Fest today at Cole

"Crab cakes and football, that's what Maryland does," - so goes the quote from the popular movie The Wedding Crashers.

So when two portable crab steamers roll onto the campus today and more than 4,800 crabs meet their fate in a fury of boiling water and Old Bay spices, the Student Government Association's first-ever Crab Fest will debut in a distinctly Maryland style.

In hopes that it would start an annual tradition, SGA President Emma Simson made the fest a major campaign issue while running for her position last year. Its debut fulfills her goal to bring the campus - or 1,200 members of it - together over the unofficial state delicacy and to foster a tradition that many students said the school lacks, Simson said.

"We go to a very large school and I think some people feel very disconnected," Simson said. "A lot of students say that we don't have the types of traditions that other universities have. We wanted to build a community that would connect the entire campus."

The 1,200 students who will come out to the Cole Field House tonight to kick off the fest will indulge in an entire evening of crab commemoration including a full spread of crab soup, corn, barbecue chicken and, of course, crabs, topped off by a screening of the aforementioned Wedding Crashers that will be open to all students - not just those who purchased the $12.50 tickets.

All paying students will receive four "male one crabs," the meatiest type of crab, although most of the crabs will not be Maryland natives. Dining services imported most of the batch from Delaware in order to help curb costs, Dining Services spokesman Bart Hipple said.

In addition to Dining Services and the SGA, three other campus organizations pitched in to fund the affair: Student Entertainment Events, the Alumni Association and the office of Student Affairs.

While originally envisioned to be an all-campus event on the mall, the festival had to be scaled back to accommodate a maximum of 1,200 students because of cost restrictions and limited facilities, Simson said.

Still, with the SGA promoting the event outside the dining halls all of last week, buzz has slowly built for the festival, which sold out two days ago. And while it may not be a campus-wide event - only five percent of students on the campus are participating - SGA officials see the festival as a good beginning from which a tradition might grow, Simson said.

"1,200 students will help get the seeds planted," Simson said. "With any new tradition you have to start reasonable. I think 1,200 is a lot."

Contact reporter Ben Slivnick at slivnickdbk@gmail.com.