Last year, huge images of B.o.B. could be seen at multiple locations around campus — on sandwich boards, stuck onto floors and plastered onto the side of the Union, all in anticipation of Redfest, the U’s annual concert put on by ASUU. This year, advertising took a turn toward a more elementary style, sticking with the sandwich boards, while especially utilizing chalk reminders throughout campus’s concrete pathways. The reason could lie in the fact that funds were redistributed to four small, local bands after the organization payed Asher Roth a $7,500 cancellation fee.
The artist, well-known for his song “I Love College,” was actually paid $5,150 more than the payment of all four local bands combined in order for him NOT to play at Redfest. The controversy lies not in the actual cancellation and hiring of local artists, but rather in the process leading up to the event. Roth was originally promised $15,000 to perform, until ASUU decided they were not willing to host an entertainer who uses profane language and imagery, as well as having once tweeted derogatory comments.
I can imagine that by canceling Roth, ASUU managed to escape a few accusations of supporting discriminatory and degrading language. However, why couldn’t the organization have done this simple lyric research before booking Roth? By keeping bands local from the start, $7,500 worth of student funds would have been spared while keeping attention focused on art in the Salt Lake community.
ASUU promotes over 600 student groups and organizations on their website — if this is the case, shouldn’t they be focusing on giving these students the monetary amounts they need to propel their efforts forward? EnviroClub, a student-motivated group promoting environmental awareness locally and globally, on campus and in the community, applied for $500 worth of funding. Instead, this group was granted $200 for events, advertising, promotion, etc. How is any student organization supposed to sufficiently spread the word about their cause if their main source of funding is busy wasting funds on canceling artists who do not represent their own views? ArtsOUT, a volunteer-based club organized in the College of Fine Arts, could utilize the funding to donate ballet supplies to low-income households taking pre-ballet, or buying tickets for low-income children to witness large-scale performances in the Salt Lake Valley.
Had ASUU done its research before booking a “big-name” artist, student fees would have been spared, student organizations on campus could have benefited and leftover money could have been used on events that student surveys would prove to be popular. Next time, keep it local, support the arts and hopefully the establishment will use some common sense before wasting student dollars.