Committee decides Spring Fest
By Jennifer Waters
On May 4, 2012
The United Students Government's initiative to create a committee that would better
evaluate what students wanted to see this year for Spring Fest is proving to work.
The committee was created by the USG Senate and consisted of Sara Garfinkle, Josh Lipka,
three USG senators and Terence Harding, general manager of WBNY, as an advisor.
The event is on pace to sell out, as it has for roughly the past five years, according to Jeffrey
Marsha, director of operations for the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall.
"This year was the most democratic process I've seen in the past years," Marsha said.
This year, USG sent out and reviewed surveys from the student body voting on which
performers and acts they would like to see. From this list, the committee of six people took
the top 20 results and narrowed it down based on which performers they were able to
contact and the prices they were asking.
"Iron and Wine's manager was very forward and reasonable," Harding said.
He said that not many of the members were familiar with the music so he took it on himself
to educate them through music clips and videos. He also advised the committee to pull for
acts that were more current and popular than some have been in the past.
"Mac Miller is currently doing a tour through the U.S.," he said.
He said that for past shows, USG wasn't choosing artists that were relevant at the time
Spring Fest was occurring. If they had something going on, like an album coming out or a
tour, the events would be more desirable to students.
According to Lipka, USG decided to direct Spring Fest to the widest audience possible,
taking the one show and turning it into a two-day event. This decision was based again on
the surveys, since a majority of the responses requested a weekend of events.
"The response has been overwhelmingly positive about the changes," Lipka said.
The budget for the event has been relatively the same for the past three years even though
the budget is not affected by the previous year's allotment.
Harding said that his personal goal was to adhere to the group of Buffalo State students
who were disappointed in the past.
"I'm a hip-hop and rap fan but not everyone is necessarily. I didn't want to bring them just
hip-hop but indie or alternative or rock or folk," he said.
With the USG carnival planned for earlier in the day and turning the event into an entire
weekend, Marsha said there is now something for everyone, all because the student input
was taken into account.
In the future, Harding said he hopes to see the committee grow, all with the same goals, to
bring in more people from different organizations and departments that have their own
opinions.
"In general, if they continue this route, it's only going to get better," Harding said.
Jennifer Waters can be reached by email at waters.record@live.com.
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