What are the two main sources that students utilize for event information? If you are thinking about the events calendar online and the What’s Happening page of The Polytechnic, you’re probably well-informed and correct in this assumption. You may also have noticed that the What’s page incorporates dates and times from the online calendar that are viewed as arts and entertainment. As the editor in charge of the page, I absolutely refer to thehttp://events.rpi.edu/ as my primary source.
So what’s the problem here, you may ask. When an organization is holding an event they want people to attend, they advertise it in the calendar. Those are the backbone for the Features section and dictate which shows are covered and when. While everyone’s always concerned about media coverage and getting the word out, however, no one seems to care about notifying the appropriate people when the events canceled. This is also true for the rare occurrences that a show gets listed under the wrong date or time.
This problem has come up quite a few times this semester when writers and photographers have shown up for an event only to find the room empty and not even signed out for the day. It really should not be that arduous of a task to simply mention to the institute calendar officials or to the newspaper that regrettably your event has been canceled. Everyone complains when there isn’t a front page article about their show, but no one sees the effort put into cover as many events as possible. With a staff that is already thinly spread around campus, they shouldn’t have to waste their time on ghost events just because Mr. Organization President couldn’t spare five minutes.
It may seem to some that this issue is rare or nothing to worry about, but already this semester’s newspaper staff has been sent to a handful of shows that were never going to happen in the first place. Or, as was once the case, the event was listed under the wrong date on the events calendar, thus listed under the wrong date in the What’s page. What did this group do? Did they bother informing the Institute or The Poly about this mistake? Of course not; they sent an e-mail to their mailing list claiming this event listing was slander, libel, and just not right. A much better use of that time could have been telling the right people with connections that there was a communication mistake that should be fixed.
All in all, it is understandable if something falls through at the last minute, and a show absolutely must be canceled. However, when phone calls are made to club presidents who have nothing better to say than “Oh, yeah, it was canceled,” then it becomes a bigger issue. If you want your future events to be covered, do not hesitate to admit there was a mistake in the schedule, the show has been rescheduled, or you had to cancel altogether. Those who put out the effort to keep the students and media informed may find themselves being rewarded when their next event occurs.
