BC administration cancels the fall concert
By Cal Greene III, Features Editor, on September 8, 2011 8:26 AM
The BC administration has canceled the fall concert, claiming that the concert encourages and promotes binge drinking. The administration justified this decision citing a perceived drinking problem among BC undergraduate students according to the UGBC concert update released on Thursday, September 8th. VPSA and SPO stated that, “[they] can not, as university offices, support an event which presents a high-risk drinking situation to students.” The two offices cited an increase in the number of incidences over the past few years as evidence of a need for review of the fall concert. They also stated that, “the VPSA and SPO are not doing this as a punishment, but rather they view the health and safety of students with paramount importance.”
The preliminary review process started in May and continued throughout June when officials told UGBC that the concert was being questioned “due to the increases in medical transports from the events.” UGBC at that time, was told to still plan on having the concert. The review process was not initially expected to interfere with having the concert. UGBC President, Micheal Kitlas, and Executive Director of Campus Entertainment, Micheal Zarilli, kept in constant communication with the review committee throughout July.
In August, the review committee was finalized and informed UGBC that the review would not be completed by the September 9th date set to be the Fall Concert. Currently policies towards large events at BC are still under review. The committee aims to be completed with the review in October. The Spring Concert is still on, and the changes in policy from the committee will be tested out then according to the report.
The review committee says that other large events such as, the Spring Plex Dance and Ice Jam will go ahead as planned. In the meantime students this fall are left without a fall concert and because of the difficulty of booking Conte Forum, there is no possibility to reschedule. Micheal Kitlas and Michael Zarilli are working hard to work with this situation. One student involved in UBGC commented that he fall concert is his, “top priority.”
Many students are concerned that BC has gotten overly strict over the years, though understand and accept the that the legal drinking age is 21. They see BC’s policies are “driving drinking underground” and causing many of the problems the university seeks to solve. The review committee’s proposed changes in policies will certainly catch the attention of the undergraduate population in the upcoming weeks and students will be looking to UGBC to be in constant communication on this matter going forward.
Currently UGBC has an action plan to work with this situation and the criticism from students which includes keeping all parties informed, contacting administrators, looking into the review procedures, moving the Spring Plex Dance to the fall, and incorporating music into other events such as homecoming and tailgates. They have set up two ways for students to provide feedback, a twitter @UGBCconcerts, and an email, UGBCconcerts@gmail.com.
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4 Comments
I recommend that the administration cancels football games as well. Haven’t they see the drinking that our donation-giving alumni do?
WOW. sporting events should be held in New York that way they could effectively prevent all fun that students could potentially have together. After the mods are burned down of course.
guess we’ll just binge drink without a concert now, whatever
The official statement of the VPSA and SPO about protecting students from themselves is laughably offensive to the intelligence of their student body. As a BC alum, this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Their cultural funding has always been a joke, and this is very much a step in the wrong direction.
I would guess that at least some of the “[increase] in medical transports from the events” stems from BCPD policies that regularly hospitalize people who are in no need of assistance at all. I know that they have to err on the side of caution, but they really take it over the top.
Good thing no one will really miss the consistently shitty acts that UGBC hired for concerts.