Fergie and Sean Kingston, the headliner and opening act for University Union’s Block Party on April 22, are artists whose names will resonate among a good deal of students and members of the Syracuse community.

However, that may not be the point when looking at concerns surrounding UU and the choices made for this year’s Block Party. While UU was successful in booking two acts the majority of students have heard of, there are issues. The event now takes place midweek, moving from its usual Sunday spot, to coincide with Mayfest. And the price of admission is up.

Although the date alone won’t deter students from attending, Sunday was never a great day to hold a concert, and Tuesday isn’t much better.

Student tickets for the concert will be $20, more expensive than in past years. This may prevent someone who’s not an avid Fergie or Sean Kingston fan from going, but the higher cost alone probably won’t deter a large amount of students.

Still, there is no one universal band everyone on campus would love to see. The SU community is full of students with a wide variety of tastes in sound and music, ranging from hardcore punk rock aficionados and acoustic lovers to Caribbean beat fans and reggae listeners. Such a range of tastes may lead some to believe UU’s choice in Block Party artists was simply a lose-lose situation.

That’s just it though – there is no one right choice for which artist or band will perform at one of the biggest events on campus for Spring semester. But if the school were to allocate increased funding for UU, then perhaps Block Party would be able to attract more students and possibly even faculty members for a concert a greater number of people could enjoy. Or maybe UU has ability to host a number of smaller concerts varying in genre for events on campus.

The Student Association gave UU $170,000 earlier this semester for Block Party, according to the SA’s meeting minutes. UU later requested $71, 767.13, but was denied funds.

UU isn’t going to wake up tomorrow morning with $1 million and fly U2 in from Dublin in an effort to appease a larger number of students. But bands also aren’t going to offer discounts to help a struggling student association.

Instead, plausible solutions must be put forth, and this will most likely require collecting more money from students.

Raising the student fee $5, $10 or even $20 next year would certainly alleviate some of UU’s funding troubles. This would be a small amount for each student, but when multiplied by the more than 11,000 undergraduates here, it quickly adds up. Part of that additional money raised could go to organizations like UU that try to enrich the college experience for SU students.

While such an increase would most likely anger some students, keeping in perspective the price we pay for tuition – a whopping $40,000 plus – another $5 to $20 isn’t that big of a deal. And it would help get better big-name bands here, while also allowing for more small concerts that appeal to all different musical appetites.

The fact a student organization has the ability to procure prominent artists for campus events like Block Party is a gift and something a number of students probably appreciate. However, unless UU and similar organizations are allocated proper funding, those concerts that were once top-notch may soon transform into something not pleasing to anyone in the SU community.

Published on March 26, 2008 at 12:00 pm