Starting in early 1994, I worked for my first-ever newspaper, The Northern Student, the student newspaper at Bemidji State University, where I attended and received my bachelor's degree in mass communication. Over three years, I would be a staff writer, news editor, managing editor and editor. I wrote everything from news stories to feature stories to sports stories to opinion pieces. It was the greatest training ground a journalist could ever have, and I am grateful to the many talented people I worked alongside in my years at The NS.
By Devlyn Brooks
News Editor
Although 650 tickets have been sold already for the spring concert, some BSU students would rather not have a concert at all this year. There are a number of students who feel it is unfair to have two country music acts two years in a row, and they would have liked to see an alternative band instead.
The Hobson Union Programming Board scheduled rising country music star Aaron Tippin and opening act Molly and the Heymakers for Wednesday, March 29, in the John Glas Fieldhouse. The cost: about $16,500.
Junior Innes McCuaig said he was unhappy with the choice because he doesn't like country music. He said he feels that HUPB ignored the results of the music survey HUPB conducted earlier this year, in which alternative music was the favorite pick among the students surveyed.
However, according to Concert Committee Co-chair Brent Glass, the survey was used to judge more than just the favorite type of music. He said, the survey also listed "about 30 band and artists" and asked students to rank their favorite artists. John Michael Montgomery and Sawyer Brown -- other country music acts -- were among the top five choices, Glass said.
One of the reasons which made it difficult to book an alternative band, Glass said, was that by the time they could book a band, a number of the bands were booked solid. The other reason was that some of the popular bands' prices were increasing rapidly because of new hits.
"We exhausted the list of alternative bands," Glass said. "That is the reason we did switch over to a country band." Glass also said he felt that a country music act wasn't out of the question since two of the top five survey choices were country.
Concert Committee Co-chair Krista Williams agrees with Glass. "Country wasn't our first choice," she said. "We wanted to go alternative, but none of them came through."
Another student, junior Jeff Sculthorp, feels that HUPB "overlooked a lot of things" when considering the spring concert. He said he felt they looked at bands that were "too mainstream," and he felt that they didn't' even consider local bands.
According to Glass, he didn't look at the more up-and-coming bands that were alternative because he "did not feel comfortable with that level of talent." He added that HUPB did not explore the idea of a local band more thoroughly because HUPB might schedule another event later in the spring in which local bands could compete against each other in a battle of the bands.
Williams said that there are other factors that HUPB had to consider when booking a band.
For example, the Student Activity Fee Allocation Committee approved the concert budget too late in the year to book the popular bands. She said that not knowing how much SAFAC will approve each year also causes problems.
"If we could have the same amount every year, we could book next year's concert now," Williams said.
HUPB must also consider whether the concert will, at the least, break even financially for the year. If the concert doesn't break even, Williams said, SAFAC might not allocate as much for a concert the following year.
But Glass feels confident about this year's concert. He feels that Aaron Tippin is a "quality act" that will sell out because of the broad age range his act appeals to.
Although Glass agrees that "there might be some animosity" due to the scheduling of another country act this year, what matters is that there is "a real, good show, the show breaks even, and that the people that attend have a good time.
"Some are going to say that (Aaron Tippin) sucks," Glass said. "You can't please everybody."
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