Spring is quickly approaching, and now not only can you enjoy the warm weather, but you can look forward to an awesome year-end concert. This year, Rensselaer will be hosting the Honda Civic Tour on May 3. Panic! At the Disco will be headlining with Motion City Soundtrack, The Hush Sound, and Phantom Planet as supporting acts. Finally, we have a year-end concert to celebrate the end of classes! Tickets will go on sale February 15 at 10 am, and all further details about this concert will be given in next week’s Poly.
As a student, I have always wanted a year-end festival that we can enjoy before leaving for summer. Having spoken with many of you, I learned that I was not alone with my idea, so we worked hard to bring you a concert. Some of you may remember the excitement when O.A.R. played at RPI, and this year we hope for the same amount of support. Not only have we solidified a concert for this year, but as an Executive Board, we also budgeted funds for next year as well. The only thing you need to do to make this year successful is come!
This concert, like many other programs we offer, is aimed at the general student body. Next year, you may notice other changes on campus that are also aimed at everyone. Throughout budgeting we kept certain ideals and motivations in mind, and the tone we set for this year was outreach. We took an active role in supporting programs that have the possibility to attract all students. We will be renovating the Games Room and Mother’s, designing a webpage, and heavily increasing support for our three main sports teams. We will be redefining a spirit organization that will draw from our campus’ strengths and embody every student and major organization. Funding for club programs that reach out to the student body has been increased, and we will all reap the benefits of such a change. Next year, we hope to see a campus culture change where every student is actively attending events and socializing more frequently. We have given our best effort to enrich campus life for everyone, and this concert is just a harbinger of good things to come.
With all these improvements and changes, one may ask what the monetary ramifications are on a typical student. The activity fee will be increasing less than five percent next year, which is typical with recent historical growth. The extra amount charged to every student is only about the price of two pizzas; but with that increase, you will now receive everything I have described above—and more! I hope that every student will really feel that they are getting the most bang for their buck next year, and will actively seek out the opportunities that excite them.
The concert will be an exciting finale for this year, and a thrilling entrance for the next. As President of the Union, I strive my hardest to make campus more entertaining for all, and I hope you all enjoy this program. None of this would be possible without the hard work that the Executive Board, Union Administrators, and you as students put forth. I thank everyone for their hard work this year, and will continue to appreciate your work for the remainder of my term. As the King himself said: “A live concert to me is exciting because of all the electricity that is generated in the crowd and on stage. It’s my favorite part of the business, live concerts.” Let’s make the ending of this year just as electric as the beginning.
