Clinton Top Choice for Springfest Band

While split on the impeachment vote of Vice President John A. Burton '01 on Sunday night, Undergraduate Council members agreed for the most part on one thing, at least: Harvard wants the funk.

Despite the substantial cost--$5,000 extra--the council voted to move George Clinton up to the top spot in the list of Springfest band bids, which Campus Life Committee (CLC) Chair Stephen N. Smith '02 faxed yesterday to a production company.

The original list of bids, agreed on in last Friday's executive board meeting, placed the swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy first at $15,000, with Clinton second at $20,000 and They Might Be Giants third at $15,000.

Late Sunday night, once the Burton proceedings had concluded, Student Affairs Committee (SAC) Chair Michael D. Shumsky '01 unleashed a tirade of support for the artist, calling Clinton and his bands, Parliament Funkadelic and the P-Funk All-Stars, "one of the most influential musicians of the past 50 years."

The council erupted into cheers when Frank X. Leonard '01 restated Shumsky's argument.

Leonard posed a pointed question to the representatives remaining in the chamber.

"Do you want the funk?" he asked, and a chorus of wild applause was his answer.

But whether the student body wants the funk as much as the council does is questionable. According to Smith, CLC surveys of dining halls revealed more support for They Might Be Giants.

But They Might Be Giants has already played at Harvard, said Smith.

CLC members also supported their decision with the argument that They Might Be Giants has a rather similar sound to the Violent Femmes, the band at last year's Springfest.

But SAC Vice-Chair Paul A. Gusmorino '02 said he was concerned that the council, in a fit of excitement, was hastily making an unwise decision.

According to Gusmorino, student opinion hasn't shown conclusively that Clinton would bring that many more people out to Springfest. The weather may more directly affect Springfest attendance, he said.

Council member Jim R. Griffin '01 agreed with Gusmorino that Clinton may not be worth $5,000 more than the other two bands under consideration.

He said the $5,000 could be better used for other causes, like last year's allocation of $1,500 for student group booths at Springfest.

Gusmorino argued that the $5,000 sum loomed especially large in light of

the council's failure to pass a termbill increase.

Though Smith said he is excited about the prospect of having Clinton at Springfest, he is also concerned about the financial cost.

He said the council will have to take money from the $25,000 allotted to the administrators for planning a student center--money that administrators have shown no intention of using and is, according to Smith, "fair game" for the council to use to fund Springfest.

But after next year, said Smith, the council will "really be hurting" for funds. He said he anticipates another--if smaller--proposed term bill increase in the next couple of years.

For this year's Springfest, however, the situation is not so desperate. The council has already received a $1,000 corporate sponsorship and hopes for more.

And as Smith and Leonard pointed out, there is no assurance that Clinton will come to Harvard for the amount he is being offered. Leonard put his price at between $20,000 and $35,000.

"It's going to be tough," Leonard said, then referred to traditional parts of the two bands' acts.

"Do students want a man in an oversized diaper standing in the MAC quad, or Istanbul and Constantinople?"