The Daily OrangeLetter to editor: UU Block Party choice reflects students' wants
By
Posted: 4/7/09, 2:12 AM EST Section: Opinion
While I fully support your right to voice an opinion, I feel like I must address the biases scattered within yesterday's editorial towards University Union's efforts to bring a student-minded artist to headline this year's Block Party.
You wrote that Ben Folds and Guster "aren't as mainstream and don't really draw as big of an audience as T-Pain probably will". Would you mind showing facts and figures to prove this assertion to both your readers and myself? University Union has polled over 1,000 students on campus throughout the past three semesters. Ranking the artists most requested by students, Ben Folds is number 14, with Guster only a few spots behind him. If The Daily Orange Editorial Board wishes to verify this information, I welcome them to review the stacks of student surveys located in the UU office.
While I applaud Greek Unity Fest for securing T-Pain, he falls 16 spots below Ben Folds in our market research; this makes him the perfect fit for Goldstein Auditorium, but not the Carrier Dome. Ben Folds and Guster are on track to sell three to four times the capacity of Goldstein, something I do not think T-Pain could accomplish if brought to perform within the Dome.
Looking at the many responses posted to the D.O. Web site disagreeing with your editorial, I am not alone in my thoughts. To be quite honest, the only people that seem disappointed with this year's Block Party lineup are the handful of staff members at your publication who have found it necessary to voice their dissatisfaction to the entire D.O. readership.
Hypothetically: If UU secured T-Pain for Block Party, and Greek Unity Fest secured Ben Folds and Guster, would the D.O. be applauding UU's choice? Please drop your biases against UU, and let the students speak for themselves.
Kelly Bertog
Senior, Whitman School of Management
Director of Concerts for University Union
You wrote that Ben Folds and Guster "aren't as mainstream and don't really draw as big of an audience as T-Pain probably will". Would you mind showing facts and figures to prove this assertion to both your readers and myself? University Union has polled over 1,000 students on campus throughout the past three semesters. Ranking the artists most requested by students, Ben Folds is number 14, with Guster only a few spots behind him. If The Daily Orange Editorial Board wishes to verify this information, I welcome them to review the stacks of student surveys located in the UU office.
While I applaud Greek Unity Fest for securing T-Pain, he falls 16 spots below Ben Folds in our market research; this makes him the perfect fit for Goldstein Auditorium, but not the Carrier Dome. Ben Folds and Guster are on track to sell three to four times the capacity of Goldstein, something I do not think T-Pain could accomplish if brought to perform within the Dome.
Looking at the many responses posted to the D.O. Web site disagreeing with your editorial, I am not alone in my thoughts. To be quite honest, the only people that seem disappointed with this year's Block Party lineup are the handful of staff members at your publication who have found it necessary to voice their dissatisfaction to the entire D.O. readership.
Hypothetically: If UU secured T-Pain for Block Party, and Greek Unity Fest secured Ben Folds and Guster, would the D.O. be applauding UU's choice? Please drop your biases against UU, and let the students speak for themselves.
Kelly Bertog
Senior, Whitman School of Management
Director of Concerts for University Union
Viewing Comments 1 - 8 of 10
Kate
posted 4/07/09 @ 8:44 AM EST
I am a student and I will speak for myself. I feel that this letter to the editor is far more biased than the actual opinion piece itself. It was obvious before I even got to the bottom that it was written by a member of UU who, as I would be also, is upset by the fact that UU's choice for this year is lame and everyone knows it. (Continued…)
Mike
posted 4/07/09 @ 11:24 AM EST
So, UU had to settle for the 14th-best choice...that stinks. When I heard who was coming I had no idea who it was. I always hear about these "polls" conducted amongst students. (Continued…)
Rell
posted 4/07/09 @ 12:15 PM EST
Ben Folds and Guster does not reflect the students choice. I was never given a choice. My friends were not given a choice. Most of the university student body was not given a choice. (Continued…)
bias
posted 4/07/09 @ 3:04 PM EST
Please explain how it is alright for the daily orange to consistently bash and put down other organizations and no one cares, but when the DO is criticized everybody takes offense? The point of an opinion piece is to express opinions, if none were expressed it would not be an opinion piece. (Continued…)
seriously?
posted 4/08/09 @ 6:51 AM EST
If you havne't heard of Ben Folds and/or Guster, you are seriously living under a rock. You claim to want diverse programming from UU -- but you don't even seem to know mainstream artists like Ben Folds. (Continued…)
Mike
posted 4/08/09 @ 5:07 PM EST
Why dont they just plan ahead, and figure out a ballpark on how much it would cost to get a mix of an indie-rock act and an up-and-coming hip-hop artist (like Wale), and then ask the student body to vote?
Make it democratic, then the people that whine have no option but to suck it up and vote. (Continued…)
lb
posted 4/27/09 @ 12:48 AM EST
I couldn't be happier with the choice of artists. I hate that it is thought rap and hip hop is all the student body wants out of concerts. I dislike it and am happy that this concert was brought to syracuse. (Continued…)
Lane
posted 4/27/09 @ 7:25 AM EST
14th best? and when was this poll you speak of? the DO often reflects the general consensus among the student body far better than other school organizations (INCLUDING UU) what happened to the days when we got kanye? the 3 years ive been here we've ben folds/guster (outdated and unpopular) fergie and debatedly the best: lupe. (Continued…)
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