UC Votes To Fund Concert

Just three days after Undergraduate Council (UC) President Matthew J. Glazer ’06 announced that Snoop Dogg will not be headlining Springfest, the UC passed legislation last night in a dead-heat vote that will provide $10,000 to fund a new concert at a Springfest after-party.

According to Glazer, the concert would take place between 6 and 9 p.m. on Saturday, April 30 during a special Springfest after-party restricted to undergraduates. An additional $10,000 was allocated to providing amenities, such as beer, at the party.

“The point of this concert is not necessarily to be such a draw as Snoop, it’s supposed to make this party all the better and make it more fun,” Glazer said.

The Harvard Concert Commission (HCC) will now go to work with the UC’s executive board in order to find an artist in time for the event. If an artist is not secured, the $10,000 will be returned to the UC’s committee fund.

The proposed concert generated a heated debate at last night’s meeting, with Glazer ultimately breaking the 18-18-2 tie vote. Some UC members cited the relative obscurity of many of the potential artists listed by the HCC and the fact that the event would be limited to undergraduates on prefrosh weekend in opposing the bill.

“It’s preposterous that we would allocate 10,000 dollars towards a concert that prefrosh won’t be allowed to go to and will have an unknown band or a second tier band,” said council member Jason L. Lurie ’05. “We could have saved this money and then have a really good concert next year.”

Glazer defended the decision to fund the concert, citing the past effectiveness of the HCC in securing artists.

“I understood the concerns about spending the money,” Glazer said. “But the bill as written clearly says that the concert commission is going to work with the executive board to decide whether or not to go through with this concert.”

Glazer also noted that opening up the after-party to prefrosh could potentially compromise the UC’s ability to have alcohol at the event.

“We’re planning on having alcohol at the event and opening it to people other than undergrads could complicate that,” Glazer said.

HCC Director Jack P. McCambridge ’06 said that he could not comment on specific potential artists, but he did say that he is optimistic about the prospects for the event.

“I think we’ll able to do it,” McCambridge said. “We are going to continue to work on it tomorrow and over the next day or two to try and make it happen.”

According to Lurie, the UC spent over $7,000 in its failed efforts to secure Snoop Dogg. But Campus Life Committee Chair Lauren P.S. Epstein ’07 said that while the UC did incur some costs, it is impossible to calculate a specific number at this point in time.

“We’re still closing the books, so I have no idea on how he could apply a specific number to that,” Epstein said.

The UC also passed a bill last night to fund instant electronic roll call voting software. It would cost the council an estimated $1,672.71, and it would increase the efficiency and accountability of UC votes, as every vote would be automatically recorded.

—Staff writer Evan M. Vittor can be reached at evittor@fas.harvard.edu.