Illustration by Heidi Wong ’20
Note: The views expressed in the Opinion pages are those of the writers. They are not necessarily representative of the opinions and values of The Spectator Editorial Board.
On November 6th, Joey Dixon ’18 and Josh Rothstein ’19 proposed to Student Assembly, and concurrently the student body, the prospect of eliminating the traditional spring concert and rolling that budget into that of the Class & Charter Day concert. Personally, I think this is a very exciting idea and one that allows for a more engaging end to the academic year. Although the Campus Activities Board (CAB) survey asking the student body to vote on this proposal will have expired by the time this article is published, it remains that the best choice is to funnel all resources into the Class & Charter Day festivities.
In this Student Assembly meeting, Dixon and Rothstein said that the Spring Concert typically costs between $20,000 and $25,000 to book an artist. For this kind of cash, CAB can book a semi-relevant name. For example, Noname, Ugly God, and Hermitude were listed as possible contenders for spring concert artists. Personally, I have never heard of any of them and definitely would not pay to go to a show of theirs.
Last year, DRAM headlined the spring concert, and aside from the performance of his hit song, “Broccoli,” no one really knew what was happening on stage. Why should we spend $20,000 on a performer that will not inspire a large turnout when we could take that money and bring a truly famous and enticing name to campus for Class & Charter Day. Names like Galantis, Lil Yatchy, Lil Dicky, and Bebe Rhexa were suggested during the meeting. They would certainly make for a fantastic concert. The more people that buy into the entertainer on campus, the more fun the event is; I think that splitting the available budget into two subsections detracts from the potential of C&C.
It is atypical that schools have three concerts, but Hamilton has one in the fall, spring, and at C&C. The existing model was implemented when CAB had a Fall and a Spring Concert in addition to a separate day called May Day. May Day was a day of bands performing that was accompanied by reportedly high levels of drinking and other risk-taking behavior. A concert was suggested in an effort to provide students with an activity with music and food that would (hypothetically) cut down on these risk-taking behaviors. It is clear to any student who has taken part in C&C festivities, however, that the day is as much defined by its concert as it is by a host of risky behavior.
C&C is a great day — a fun way to end the school year and celebrate before final exams — but it has undoubtedly failed to divert risk-taking behaviors as it was originally intended. Rather than getting rid of the day, we should eliminate the Spring Concert and we can come together as a community at the end of the academic year for a truly epic concert.
Lastly, consider that the absence of a Spring Concert does not mean the lack of fun events for the student body. It was suggested in the meeting that a large acoustic coffeehouse event could be added in place of the spring concert — while costing very little — in addition to any other programming that various student groups plan.
Class & Charter Day is one of the best days of the year at Hamilton — arguably the one students look forward to the most. By eliminating the largely insignificant Spring concert, we can make C&C even better, while making room for events to highlight student performers in lieu of a middling artist that few will pay to see. The choice is clear — choose C&C.
