FESTering about the lineup
Some students believe the ballot lacks diversity
Segun Dent- Graduate, Graphics and Animation
Issue date: 3/8/10 Section: Two Cents
DePaul University is an educational institutional that prides itself on diversity. It celebrates its differences in the many colorful communities that attend classes and work for the university. DePaul features many ongoing festivals of food, art, music and other cultural events.
Every year as school winds down to the end of its academic calendar, DePaul Activities Board throws a giant, all-encompassing music festival for all students entitled FEST. FEST in the past has included such acts as Common, Nas, Jason Mraz, Kill Hannah, Twista, and others, including an opening act by a DePaul student. Every year, the choices for Hip Hop and R&B seem to get slimmer and slimmer. This year was no exception, as the only acts representing the two genres collectively were Jay Sean, T-Pain and Flo Rida. That's a whopping three out of 22 choices, and none of them are technically R&B artists. This is a slap in the face to dedicated Hip Hop and R&B fans.
I understand the need to have an artist that can create a buzz and fill seats so to speak, but at a college I would expect some sort of creative variation from the same tired Top 40 acts forced upon us by corporate media giants, and definitely a bigger group to pull from than three acts. These two genres are gigantic entities with their own unique sub-categories themselves, featuring a range of diverse artists such as Lupe Fiasco, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Mos Def, OutKast, John Legend, Wu Tang Clan, Drake, Little Brother, and not to mention the plethora of underground talent in Chicago and elsewhere struggling to get a show.
To make matters worse, a good number of friends and I received no word on a preliminary survey to write-in their choices, and I only caught a passing mention of this survey currently out now. The visibility of these surveys are questionable compared to the publicity and advertising blitz students receive when it's time for DAB to sell the tickets themselves.
Why does this disparity exist for an activity whose success is determined by student involvement? Every year I've attended, a compromise is made, even though the choices are minimal. In fact, it seems as if the choices are placed on the survey just so DePaul can reach an "urban music" quota, like some sort of Hip Hop/R&B affirmative action. Furthermore, to make things more ironic is that in the last four years, the biggest crowd reaction came from Hip-Hop artists Twista, The Roots, Common, and Pharell, respectively.
This year was the last straw and the reason I'm not going to attend FEST. I am not the only one who feels this way either, as evidenced by a Facebook group I've created dedicated to finding other alternative activities with 58 members and growing. I understand that one can't please everybody all the time, and ultimately there are bigger causes to fight for; but to marginalize fans of a particular genre, especially those such as large and successful as Hip Hop and R&B is downright rude and a buzz kill!
I hope that our protests don't fall on deaf ears and DAB finds a way to incorporate more student involvement in the artist selection process in the future. These restructured options shouldn't just be limited to include Hip-Hop, R&B, Rock, and Dance, but the many diverse forms of music such as reggae, reggaeton, salsa, jazz, and funk. It would be a testament to DePaul's embrace of diversity to see more musical choices in its biggest celebration of the school year.
Every year as school winds down to the end of its academic calendar, DePaul Activities Board throws a giant, all-encompassing music festival for all students entitled FEST. FEST in the past has included such acts as Common, Nas, Jason Mraz, Kill Hannah, Twista, and others, including an opening act by a DePaul student. Every year, the choices for Hip Hop and R&B seem to get slimmer and slimmer. This year was no exception, as the only acts representing the two genres collectively were Jay Sean, T-Pain and Flo Rida. That's a whopping three out of 22 choices, and none of them are technically R&B artists. This is a slap in the face to dedicated Hip Hop and R&B fans.
I understand the need to have an artist that can create a buzz and fill seats so to speak, but at a college I would expect some sort of creative variation from the same tired Top 40 acts forced upon us by corporate media giants, and definitely a bigger group to pull from than three acts. These two genres are gigantic entities with their own unique sub-categories themselves, featuring a range of diverse artists such as Lupe Fiasco, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Mos Def, OutKast, John Legend, Wu Tang Clan, Drake, Little Brother, and not to mention the plethora of underground talent in Chicago and elsewhere struggling to get a show.
To make matters worse, a good number of friends and I received no word on a preliminary survey to write-in their choices, and I only caught a passing mention of this survey currently out now. The visibility of these surveys are questionable compared to the publicity and advertising blitz students receive when it's time for DAB to sell the tickets themselves.
Why does this disparity exist for an activity whose success is determined by student involvement? Every year I've attended, a compromise is made, even though the choices are minimal. In fact, it seems as if the choices are placed on the survey just so DePaul can reach an "urban music" quota, like some sort of Hip Hop/R&B affirmative action. Furthermore, to make things more ironic is that in the last four years, the biggest crowd reaction came from Hip-Hop artists Twista, The Roots, Common, and Pharell, respectively.
This year was the last straw and the reason I'm not going to attend FEST. I am not the only one who feels this way either, as evidenced by a Facebook group I've created dedicated to finding other alternative activities with 58 members and growing. I understand that one can't please everybody all the time, and ultimately there are bigger causes to fight for; but to marginalize fans of a particular genre, especially those such as large and successful as Hip Hop and R&B is downright rude and a buzz kill!
I hope that our protests don't fall on deaf ears and DAB finds a way to incorporate more student involvement in the artist selection process in the future. These restructured options shouldn't just be limited to include Hip-Hop, R&B, Rock, and Dance, but the many diverse forms of music such as reggae, reggaeton, salsa, jazz, and funk. It would be a testament to DePaul's embrace of diversity to see more musical choices in its biggest celebration of the school year.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
jack
posted 3/08/10 @ 11:38 AM CST
Well, that survey they put out was sort of a joke. I mean, Fleetwood Mac? They are coming to Fest? Blink 182? I don't think so.
Don't worry, in the end, everyone will be just as disappointed as you already are. (Continued…)
Boyee
posted 3/08/10 @ 1:48 PM CST
This should be a welcome change. I skipped 3 of 4 FESTs when I went to DePaul because I hate rap and that's all they seemed to select. It is nice they are finally giving other genres of music a change. (Continued…)
FEST
posted 3/09/10 @ 11:38 AM CST
I understand your desire to see diversity at FEST and it would be nice if things like reggae or salsa could be included but to be honest, how many people would go? There would definitely be a lack of buzz about the event and a large portion of the students would be disappointed that a bigger well known act was not coming. (Continued…)
Boyee
posted 3/09/10 @ 5:47 PM CST
It is not a forgone conclusion that everyone at DePaul likes hip hop/rap. I graduated in 2007 and I can stand rap/hip hop music at all and I'm sure that there are many others like me. (Continued…)
Frank Renzo
posted 4/29/10 @ 6:07 PM CST
Although this is very old, and no one will read it; I still could not pass up commenting on this after reading the article. I think that your problem with the lack of hip hop is totally valid and that the ballad was pretty skewed. (Continued…)
Post a Comment