BY KIERAN ROCK AND KELLY BURNS
EDITORS
As the spring semester comes to a close and Manhattan College students look forward to the end of classes, one major event stands between Jaspers and the end of the year: the spring concert on April 25.
Though the annual spring concert may no longer bear the name of SpringFest (and later Jasper Days), the event now promises to return to its fun-filled atmosphere this year. After the events of SpringFest 2013, during which multiple students were brought to the hospital and Manhattan College received various complaints from Riverdale residents, the spring concert was toned down for last year’s Jasper Days.
Student Activities and school administration removed the carnival and barbecue portions of the schedule and booked an all-country line up for the concert.
The day received somewhat mixed reviews.
“I was disappointed in last year’s SpringFest because no one really went to the concert,” student Danielle Kleinhans said. “I was expecting something like Alesso.”
This year, the spring concert will change again.
“It will include the barbecue and the carnival,” John Bennett, director of student activities, said. “We are really happy to have been able to add that, and that is a reflection of student behavior at some larger events this year, such as the Iona game.”
The Quadrangle announced earlier this semester that The All American Rejects would be headlining the main show. The opening act will be indie rock band Circa Waves. The spring concert schedule will take up most of the day, according to Bennett.
“The spring concert day, the entire schedule is really going to last from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,” he said. The carnival and barbecue will be taking place throughout the day, with the doors opening to Draddy at 1:30 p.m. and The All American Rejects taking the stage at 3 p.m.
The day will be filled with other opportunities for students to have some fun on campus.
“We are having a special guest, Dave Santia, a speed painter,” he said. Santia is an artist who will be painting on the steps of Smith on the quad during the carnival portion of the spring concert day calendar. “Everything is free for Manhattan College students,” Bennett said. “There’s no signing up for anything, no tickets required, just make sure you have your student IDs.”
The student activities office will also be selling guest tickets this week, for those students interested in bringing a person who does not attend MC.
Student expectations for this year are higher after last year’s Jasper Days did not impress. “I hope it’s like other college’s concerts,” Connor Clarke said. “I hope that everyone has a good time, and that no one gets hurt and everyone is safe,” he said.
Bennett and Student Activities are trying to fill the day with exciting events on campus to encourage students to make the most of what is offered on the school.
“One thing we are trying to focus on this year is making sure students are staying on campus and enjoying everything,” Bennett said. “The feel this year will be ‘you will be missing out if you’re not on campus and you’re out in the neighborhood.’ Where as in years past, students may have felt otherwise,” Bennett said.