2008 Woodie Awards
Fiasco's great, but where were our students?
Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: Opinion/Editorial
- Page 1 of 1
Well, he was better than Edwin McCain ... kinda.
Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco brought some 800 people to Webster University's Grant Gymnasium April 20. Attendance for this Campus Activities-sponsored event topped that of the 200 people who attended the 2006 Homecoming celebration where McCain lent us his crying shoulder. But the turnout for Fiasco didn't match the more than 1,500 people who turned out to hear Christopher Gardner speak on his book, "The Pursuit of Happyness."
Since McCain's campus apppearance - or should we say fiasco - in October, it seems members of Campus Activities have put your $30 per semester Student Activity Fee to good use - until now.
While Fiasco, a three-time Grammy nominee, rocked the gym with DJ Needles and FallOut and Friends, he didn't seem to really appeal to Webster's student body.
Of the 800 people in attendance, approximately 525 weren't even affiliated with Webster, Katie McComb, graduate assistant for the University Center and Campus Activities, told The Journal. Instead of Webster students taking advantage of free concerts funded by the Student Activity Fee, most audience members were from the St. Louis community and Washington University.
The Multicultural Center and International Student Affairs co-sponsored the free event, which was open to the public. Off-campus advertising was the cause for such a large crowd.
In fact, Curtis Conrod, current program coordinator of the MCISA, said he wasn't surprised there were more non-Webster attendees.
"We anticipated that the majority of those who came to the concert would not be Webster students," he said.
Although 800 people is an impressive turnout, why should our Student Activity Fee be used when the target audience of the event is not Webster students? While we appreciate support from the community at large, it doesn't seem fair our money be directed towards something the majority of Webster's fee-paying students didn't see.
Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco brought some 800 people to Webster University's Grant Gymnasium April 20. Attendance for this Campus Activities-sponsored event topped that of the 200 people who attended the 2006 Homecoming celebration where McCain lent us his crying shoulder. But the turnout for Fiasco didn't match the more than 1,500 people who turned out to hear Christopher Gardner speak on his book, "The Pursuit of Happyness."
Since McCain's campus apppearance - or should we say fiasco - in October, it seems members of Campus Activities have put your $30 per semester Student Activity Fee to good use - until now.
While Fiasco, a three-time Grammy nominee, rocked the gym with DJ Needles and FallOut and Friends, he didn't seem to really appeal to Webster's student body.
Of the 800 people in attendance, approximately 525 weren't even affiliated with Webster, Katie McComb, graduate assistant for the University Center and Campus Activities, told The Journal. Instead of Webster students taking advantage of free concerts funded by the Student Activity Fee, most audience members were from the St. Louis community and Washington University.
The Multicultural Center and International Student Affairs co-sponsored the free event, which was open to the public. Off-campus advertising was the cause for such a large crowd.
In fact, Curtis Conrod, current program coordinator of the MCISA, said he wasn't surprised there were more non-Webster attendees.
"We anticipated that the majority of those who came to the concert would not be Webster students," he said.
Although 800 people is an impressive turnout, why should our Student Activity Fee be used when the target audience of the event is not Webster students? While we appreciate support from the community at large, it doesn't seem fair our money be directed towards something the majority of Webster's fee-paying students didn't see.
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