32 CommentsTonight, the Bacchanal committee issued a press release in regards to the religious conflicts with the date for this year’s spring concert. In response to many students complaints about the concert date falling on the weekend of Passover and Easter, the Board responded by saying the date was the only option given graduation set up the weekend following Days on Campus. The date has been just one of the handful of student complaints, including the ticket charge and capped attendance at this year’s Bacchanal. See the full statement below.
After the cancellation of Fall Bacchanal, the Bacchanal executive board met with the deans of the four undergraduate schools to hear their concerns and ensure the continued existence of Spring Bacchanal. During this meeting, it was made very clear that all of the deans’ requests had to be met in order to guarantee that the concert would take place. One such request from the administration was that Bacchanal should not fall on the scheduled Days on Campus. Bacchanal has historically coincided with this date, but this year it was made clear that a change was necessary. The following Saturday after the original date, April 18th, was not an option due to graduation set up. As a result, April 4th was chosen. Our executive board members constitute several faiths, including those affected by this year’s concert scheduling. We understand how holy these days are. We by no means intended to undermine their importance, but rather, took any action necessary simply to ensure that the concert would even take place. After a successful show this coming April, the board hopes to work with campus partners to ensure this scheduling does not happen again next year.The Bacchanal Executive Board
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32 Comments
@Anonymous Was the fall Bacchanal artist really going to be Arcade Fire?
@Anonymous what a concert with a pop artist one of these days??? Jessie J for example is performing at yale…
@CC alum 2013 Seriously, people. I know it sucks, but put the blame where it belongs – on the administration. NOT on the Bacchanal committee.
You think that the Bacchanal committee, as your fellow students, actually WANTS all these extra rules and restrictions and costs? You think they didn’t have enough going on in their lives that they decided to complicate things for themselves by adding lots of BS red tape and non-ideal situations? You think they said “hey let’s do as much as possible to piss off the student body because we love getting shat on”?
If I were them, I would’ve thrown in the towel a while ago. But they’ve persevered and jumped through all of the administration’s ridiculous hoops and the only reason I can think of for why they’d voluntarily put themselves through this (especially any seniors on the committee) is because they REFUSE TO LET THE ADMINISTRATION WIN. They REFUSE to let them take away the ONE DAY that Columbia students can feel like they go to real college. The ONE DAY that the campus comes together with no other agenda but to have fun. The ONE DAY that I always (literally, without fail) smile about when I look back at my time in college.
So instead of bashing the Bacchanal committee – the ones who are actually on your side – why don’t you do something productive to HELP THEM?
Let the administration know that you’re not happy! Those Deans aren’t sitting here reading Bwog comments because they’re so concerned about how you all feel. You have to shove it in their faces and make them care and hold them accountable for the crappy position in which they’ve put the Bacchanal committee and thus the student body.
So maybe one thing you can do is instead of typing a Bwog comment, type up an email to them with a big fat sarcastic THANK YOU for being so unreasonable. Bonus points if you tell them that unhappy student = unhappy alum = no donations of campus buildings when you’re super rich. This is language that they understand.
Man, I am so glad that I got the heck out of this school when I did.
@Anonymous ^this. Actually write to the deans, don’t just write bwog comments.
The war on fun seems pretty lost, at this point…
@anon about the baccontroversy —
I know that this is a stressful time and that Bacchanal’s a big deal to all of us. But seriously, the Bacchanal committee has tried really hard this year to make a great event for y’all, even if that meant endless hours of meetings and crap -.-. Give them a break, please.
sincerely,
someone without a ticket
@Anonymous of course you don’t have a ticket, you’re on bacchanal board!
@Big Sean Sucks anyway. How about a concert with a band?
@Heisenberg From Spec “After April 11—the Saturday during Days on Campus—was ruled out, the board then considered March 28, April 4, and April 18. The board said that holding the concert on April 18 was not possible because Low Plaza—the location of the annual concert—would be undergoing preparations for Commencement. A Bacchanal executive committee member told Spectator that the Board opted not to hold the event on March 28, the week after spring break, because of likely cold temperatures and concerns that preparations would not be complete in time. This left April 4 as the only viable option for the concert.”
This could not be stupider. March 28 would be too cold but April 4 is fine? This should have been done the 28th, and if not, the 11th.
@BC I’m just kind of pissed that no one thought to email Barnard students about this. Like if you’re not 100percent on top of your shit or are maybe a little distracted because midterms or your job or your job+ midterms or whatever reason you’re going to be completely blindsided by the ticket sales. Next year are we going to have to be signed in to Lowe steps?
@CC I hope so, yall technically don’t go here
@please go educate yourself on your university and its undergraduate schools. fourth down on this list for reference: http://www.columbia.edu/content/schools.html.
@BC '15 Girl don’t waste your time trying to justify your existence to first years, they’ll get over it eventually
@right back at ya Barnard is an affiliate undergraduate institution, not the same thing.
“Undergraduate programs are offered by two affiliated institutions, Barnard College and Jewish Theological Seminary. ”
http://www.columbia.edu/home/academic_programs/
@CC freshboy LOL more like BarnYARD amirite? Killing it!!!!!!!!! Stupid bitches making us say “first year” I have literally never been more censored in my entire life.
@please go educate yourself on your university and its undergraduate schools. fourth down on this list, for reference: http://www.columbia.edu/content/schools.html
@the misspelling of low says it all
@Is that not... I assumed Rob Lowe built it with his West Wing money?????
@cc 15 I’m not even that angry because what do you expect from Columbia? But as a Christian, I am worried about Bacchanal being on Easter. Bacchanal is a day of revelry, it just feels wrong to go party and then be like “oh Jesus came back from the dead”. But to be honest, I am used to this kind of mediocrity from Columbia so I am not surprised.
@cc 16 At least I’ll be drinking 4 cups of wine at my Seder
@jll These ISIS fools hate the jews and christians… its time for a new crusade
@Dont know why people are targeting members of the bacchanal board. The administration made these people jump endless hoops and they still managed to get us a concert with a relevant artist. Sure the date, cost, and limited tickets absolutely blow, but these people are working with what they were given.
@Anonymous still managed to get *(the 4000 who clicked first today)* a concert
@True But still not their fault
@Anonymous Misrepresenting their funding plans in order to get the same large allocation as always definitely *was* their fault. I am now paying for their concert.
The least they could do is release a “thank you for your money” statement to all the students who aren’t able to get tickets.
@Anonymous The 4,000 person cap was imposed by a former fire chief/new Columbia hire as the maximum legal occupancy. This was not determined by the Bacchanal committee.
@Fire is always an excuse They use it for whtv. The Chaplain kicks people out of St. Paul’s using that excuse even though the whole building is made of stone and bricks and there’s no cloth to be found other than the altar. Plus there’s insurance for the whole building from both schools.
@Fire is always an excuse That’s why the Choir hasn’t been allowed to sing there since like 1995.
@iwjlhnf tbh id rather not have a bacchanal then have all of this stress about buying tickets and my friends getting left out
@out of touch parents this is totally what we were all upset about!
@Anonymous what about the limited tickets and their cost?
@cc what about the sweatshirts they sold/funds they accepted from ABC without telling anyone they were charging for tickets?
@Anonymous there will be a separate post for those two questions