In the wake of University Union’s announcement about its biggest concert of the year, the Syracuse University community responded vocally with partial excitement, confusion and overall disappointment.

The Monday night release led many to vent about UU’s selection. Minutes after UU announced Kaskade and Cold War Kids as performers, The Daily Orange created a survey for all SU and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry students to gauge campus reaction. Of the 477 respondents:

59 percent were female, 40 percent male and 1 percent declined to say.

Sophomores represented 30.3 percent of the survey, followed by seniors with 29.3 percent. Freshmen responded least with a 15.7 percent survey presence.

These graphics reveal students’ reactions to the lineup. The Daily Orange plans to forward these metrics to UU.

Tickets for Block Party are on sale Wednesday to all SU and ESF students for $15.

#Trendsetter

After enjoying last year’s Block Party featuring Kid Cudi, Ben Glidden was underwhelmed by the 2012 lineup. Glidden, a sophomore broadcast and digital journalism major, took to Twitter to voice his disappointment.

‘I was excited all day, so pumped,’ Glidden said. ‘And then it came out and I’d never heard of either artist. They’re not the type of headliners you want at a show like this.’

Glidden’s first tweet, ‘I would rather read a sub par book than go to Block Party,’ led him to his second that began a mini-Twitter revolution. He wrote, ‘Watch grass grow #ThingsIdRatherDoThanGoToBlockParty’ and tweeted more as friends joined in. Word spread and soon many students began tweeting to the hashtag. Ultimately, ‘ThingsIdRatherDoThanGoToBlockParty’ became a nationally and internationally trending topic on Twitter.

‘It scared me at first,’ Glidden said. ‘I was like, ‘Can I get in trouble for this? Am I in the wrong by doing this?”

Glidden gave students an outlet on which to express their feelings about UU’s decision. He hopes UU will re-evaluate the selection process for future lineups.

‘I have a lot of respect for what UU does,’ Glidden said. ‘I know a lot of schools don’t get the shows we get. But we sent a message. We’re not happy and the fact that it got so much attention tells me that it worked.’

S.A.Y. What?

Some students questioned the UU funding process and directly called on Student Association President Dylan Lustig to intervene. Though SA and UU have a strong relationship, Lustig said it is important to ensure UU is held financially accountable.

‘When a group doesn’t perform the way they think or say they will, there needs to be some sort of action taken,’ Lustig said. ‘I am the voice of the students, and I can’t ignore that we made a national hashtag overnight.’

Lustig understands the level of effort that UU puts into its selection process and said students should also try to understand. He said he plans to meet with UU officials to discuss the reaction.

Fair Funding

UU President Rob Dekker addressed negative statements made toward UU amid the reaction. First, Dekker said that Rock the Dome had no adverse effect on UU. Rock the Dome was funded solely by the extra allocation UU received from SA last semester. Dekker said UU has received just half of that money, and it will ‘benefit programming at SU for the next decade.’

Addressing the accusation that UU spent $1 million booking Block Party, Dekker said: ‘We are not spending a million dollars on this concert. The total amount being spent is comparable to (that of) last year.’

Dekker does not have the exact cost for this year’s show yet, but as context he said UU applied for approximately $300,000 for next year’s show.

Addressing the idea that UU gets special privileges, Dekker said: ‘The relationship between UU and SA is like any other student organization. We apply for funding like any other student organization and adhere to all rules outlined for RSOs.’

QUOTES:

THE GOOD

‘I am very happy with the choices,’ said David Haberman, a senior in the School of Architecture. ‘You have the No. 1 American DJ in a time when DJs are the most popular musicians in the world.’

Anonymous comment, March 26, 12:43 a.m. – ‘The Block Party 2012 lineup is amazing this year. What most people don’t understand is that although University Union was given more money, it doesn’t always necessarily buy a ‘high profile’ act. Especially considering availability and tour routing around Block Party’s April date and the fact that some artists just don’t want to play college shows, etc.’

THE BAD

‘Not everyone at SU is obsessed with DJs and rappers,’ said Shelley Halman, a senior in the Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries. ‘More performers who actually play instruments and have more talent than mixing music together would be good.’

Anonymous comment, March 27, 12:17 a.m. – ‘Though I commend the exploration of a non-pop second act, the selection for headliner is not only an inappropriate step toward the wrong type of music, but also an enormous downgrade in quality from UU concerts this year and in the past 3 years.’

THE UGLY

‘I remember visiting as a high school senior and my tour guide told us Drake came for Block Party,’ said Julia D’Orazio, a freshman communications design major. ‘Then Kid Cudi came next. I’ve been looking forward to it since I got here, but I’m not happy. No one should have to Google the performers to see who they are.’

Anonymous comment, March 27, 12:27 a.m. – ‘As a fifth year senior, I’ve seen the quality and name-recognition for the Block Party headliners decline year after year. It was only 2008 when we had Fergie and Sean Kingston, and they were relevant back then! It is as if the UU concert board has been completely taken over by hipster/music industry majors who have no grasp on the more mainstream music taste for the rest of the campus.’

Anonymous comment, March 27, 2:15 a.m. – ‘What’s the point of going to a concert when a musical act just presses the space button or clicks a mouse? I can do the same on YouTube and listen to enjoyable music!’

mainthia@syr.edu 

Published on March 27, 2012 at 12:00 pm