RPC Welcome Back Concert faces changes

By Joey Caparella     5/14/13 7:00pm

 

Next fall's third annual Rice Program Council Welcome Back Concert may see some changes to address lower-than-expected attendance for last year's concert, according to RPC President Aisha Jeeva.

Jeeva, a Martel College sophomore, RPC is considering moving the concert outside to put more of an emphasis on food and activities rather than the music itself.

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"The impetus behind having a Welcome Back event was to have an alcohol-free alternative available to Dis-O, and this is what we hope to return to," Jeeva, a Martel College sophomore, said. "Many students were unhappy with the concert part and believed the funds could be better redirected elsewhere, as it had a low turnout. ... One of our principal goals is to be more responsive to student feedback this year."

RPC Concerts Committee Co-Chair Jacob Hernandez said moving the concert outside would also save money, as Tudor Fieldhouse charges a fee to rent out the space for the concert. Hernandez said he thinks the concert budget will be better utilized this year by getting food and T-shirt sponsors.

"We are trying to reduce costs but still get the type of artist that we want," Hernandez, a Sid Richardson College sophomore, said. "Last year, we had an awkward budget where the price range was too small to get a really good artist but too big to get only one not-as-good artist. We tried to go with both and realized that [having more than one artist] made the concert longer ... . By the end of the first act, everyone was done."

Hernandez said he hopes this year's concert will not only start earlier, but also be shorter overall.

"Last year's concert ended at 9:30 [p.m.], and that's way too late," Hernandez said. "Even though the goal of the event is to get people away from the colleges, people aren't going to stay for five or six hours."

Hernandez said the decisions about these potential changes would be made by himself, Concerts Committee Co-Chair Sophie Lin and the RPC Executive Council. 

RPC sent out a survey to students last fall to identify desired musical genres and artists, and RPC officers used results from the survey to come up with a list of potential artists for RPC to contact, according to Hernandez. Hernandez said he hoped to announce the artist for the concert at least a month before the event, which will take place Saturday, August 24.

Wiess College junior Alexa Juarez said she thinks the poor attendance of the concert in the past was because of other events going on at the colleges at the same time. 

"One of the main problems is that there is so much going on that day, and it's easy to forget about the concert," Juarez said. "People are moving in and trying to catch up with everyone or already have dinner plans. The freshman are also [so] exhausted from O-week [and] Dis-O events that they don't make the effort to go."

Juarez said the potential move to an outdoor concert is a good idea.

"If it was in the same location as the [KTRU Outdoor Show]," more people would be likely to go because it's not as far as [Tudor]." Juarez said. 

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