For the third year in a row, the Class & Charter Day Concert will be held indoors. An email sent out by the Campus Activities Board (CAB) on Wednesday informed the community that the concert performers — Charli XCX, Moxie Raia, Goon, and Stink 182 — would take the stage inside the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House beginning at 4 PM on Friday, May 4.
The news comes after much speculation that, due to the recent arrival of warm weather, the concert would take place outdoors. Unfortunately, a forecast that calls for thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday forced event organizers to abandon plans for an outdoor concert venue.
Director of Student Activities Noelle Niznik and Assistant Director of Student Activities Kaity Werner issued a statement on Tuesday explaining the rationale behind the decision.
It read: “The Office of Student Activities along with the student C&C Planning Committee want to do the Class & Charter Concert outdoors always because we know students prefer that (and honestly we do too), but it would be irresponsible to keep the show outside knowing that if the predicted thunderstorms occur, the artist wouldn’t be able to perform or would be pulled off stage mid-show, ending the show early. We (the College) would still be liable to pay for the show in full if it gets canceled or ends early.”
The statement continued: “The decision to move it inside was made early this week because the stage/sound equipment arrives Thursday at 7 AM for the extensive set up that goes into a show of this size. The sound company has to pack the truck with indoor versus outdoor set ups on Wednesday. We’ve been watching the forecast since last week and unfortunately the quick warm up from Monday to today/Wednesday is bringing on the predicted storms for Thursday/Friday. […] Let’s have a fun and safe end of semester Concert Day!”
Joshua Rothstein ’19 and Joey Dixon ’18, CAB’s Concert Coordinators, offered their thoughts on the decision from the perspective of student organizers. Their statement read: “The Class & Charter Concert Committee (which consists of members from CAB, WHCL, and Social Traditions) always wants the concert to be outdoors, and we have done everything we possibly could to hold the concert outside this year. We would like to thank Jon Hind and the Grounds Crew for giving us the option of using Withiam Field this year, and we hope that weather permitting, we will be able to use that field next year.”
Rothstein and Dixon added that they had been communicating with the Office of Student Activities and an outside consulting agency throughout the decision-making process. Said Rothstein: “We fully stand by the decision to move the show indoors.”
Anticipating disappointment from the student body at the prospect of a third-straight indoor concert, Rothstein and Dixon urged the campus community to “not let an indoor show ruin their experience on Friday. We have made a number of changes to the venue to make it a better concert space. While we cannot control the weather, we know Charli is going to put on a great show.”
CAB’s all-campus email also provided information on the food truck that will be located outside the Babbitt Pavilion from 12–2 PM on Friday. Niznik, citing concerns that the food truck could potentially exacerbate the spread of the recent norovirus outbreak on campus, said the the College is “taking additional precautions with Bon Appétit and the Food Truck” to account for the presence of the virus.
Thunderstorms or not, Class & Charter Day’s event schedule promises to offer students and community members a variety of activities, in addition to the informal, celebratory social gatherings that traditionally occur across campus throughout the day.
