We're missing the chance for a huge party
I don’t think it would be farfetched to say a lot of students think this space is wasted on some terrible ideas. But bear with me; this one’s worth the read.
I grew up in a town very similar to Franklin. The town I lived in was Ottawa, Ill. The towns had a couple very distinct differences. First, Ottawa sits on a spot where two rivers meet, which is missing from Franklin. The water looks around the same color of the Ben Franklin statue near the Student Center so I wouldn’t drink it, even after boiling.
Franklin has a tributary, if it can even be called that. It barely qualifies as a babbling brook. It just looks as though someone upstream left their bath water running.
The two rivers that ran through Ottawa made it a prime spot for the second difference: A week-long festival of music and food called Riverfest.
Tents, stages and carnival rides would be set up by the river for the party. Local restaurants would bring food down for spectators to get a bite to eat and experience the "Taste of Ottawa." Riverfest was quite frequently considered the biggest party in town.
There have been some big name groups to come through and perform at Riverfest, including the Herman’s Hermits and The Lieutenant Dan Band, featuring Gary Sinise – the actor who played Lieutenant Dan in "Forrest Gump" – on bass.
Last time I checked, Franklin did not have a celebration of this caliber any time of year. If they do, it’s the best-kept secret in town.
There’s one major difference left between Ottawa and Franklin and it’s essential to the argument I’m trying to make: Franklin has a college base in the town (obviously).
If Franklin has a college and Ottawa doesn’t, why is it that Ottawa has a better party? It’s a question that hasn’t exactly kept me up at night – as I write this at 2 a.m. – but it’s a question I feel deserves attention.
Franklin has the perfect opportunity to begin a tradition of a festival like this. Last week in The Franklin, we reported that recording artist Corey Smith would perform on campus April 30 in the Spurlock Center.
Imagine this scenario: You have a bowl of your favorite ice cream. Then, your server adds all your favorite toppings – sprinkles, whipped cream, chocolate sauce; whatever you prefer. Then, your server added rubber bands to the treat, and completely ruined it.
See the point? Don’t get me wrong, credit deserves to go out to the Student Entertainment Board and all other groups who helped get Smith to campus, but we have so much more potential we can reach for.
Spurlock is so limiting in terms of space. If we pack people inside the gym – which already runs somewhere around the surface temperature of Venus – will get even hotter.
The answer from here is simple: Move the concert outside. Save Spurlock for the chance that it’s raining that day.
Imagine the picture, if you will: Hundreds of students sitting on the grass on a cool evening, enjoying the fresh air and huddled together with friends to hear the concert.
Fresh air, good friends and live music are damn close to a perfect evening.
We all know how relaxing it is to be outside around late April and early May. By having the concert on the quad, we could still regulate ticket sales, while the fact that it’s outside could attract others from the neighborhood.
If we could get some food vendors, we’d have the building blocks for a yearly festival. We could get the city to begin contributing funds to pay for acts who perform each year.
We have been presented a great opportunity. I just hope we’re able to capitalize on it and make it the best party this town’s ever seen.
Evan, We wanted an outdoor concert. Trust me. But do you not understand how expensive it is to have an outdoor concert? Have you ever PLANNED a concert before? Probably not. There is more to it than the weather factor. The planning committee agreed that an outdoor concert would be great for campus, however, it's just not in the budget. Now, if you would like to head a fundraising committee for this concert to be outdoors, you go right ahead. If you would like to see something happen on campus, you can't sit like a bump on a log and have others do things for you. You can attend a Student Congress meeting and voice your opinion. You can join SEB and suggest ideas for new events. What you can't do is sit in Shirk Hall and write articles bashing events and the people on campus who are working extremely hard to bring you these events. Do your research, Evan. -Amanda McIntosh
