NAV’s performance in Draddy Gymnasium. ANGELINA PEREZ/THEQUADRANGLE
By Angelina Persaud, News Editor & Angelina Perez, Web Editor
Jasper nation was thriving and thoroughly enjoying this year’s Springfest, which included a carnival on the quad and a performance by R&B and rap artist NAV.
The festivities on April 15 began with a carnival on the quad where students were able to come together to enjoy music, food and the joy of community.
The carnival portion included some sweet treats such as cotton candy and funnel cake, and activities for students to participate in. These included bouncy houses, one of which you were able to fight with an opponent, and the very anticipated mechanical bull.
Events such as Springfest hold a special meaning for many students as the college is able to hold large-scale, in-person events again following the pandemic. Kieran McCullogh, a junior, explained the joy she feels in seeing the community come together during these times.
“Doing stuff as a campus for things like this is special. It’s nice to have everyone together doing something.”
Others shared their excitement about being able to participate in the activities of the day and unwind after a week of class.
Noah Schmidt, a senior, shared his favorite part of the events and what he was looking forward to the most that day.
“I’m really looking forward to the [NAV] concert later tonight,” Schmidt said. “I wish there was more food here but I’m pretty excited to ride the mechanical bull later today.”
The main event of the evening was the NAV concert held in Draddy Gymnasium. Hundreds of students gathered and danced to some of his most popular songs.
Rosalia Cefalu, vice president of student life on the student government’s E-board, was tasked with creating a fun, entertaining evening for students. She explained the process of searching for an artist to perform required a lot of research and consideration of student input.
“We’ve explored a ton of different artists and like, we just kept looking and looking,” Cefalu said. “I was like we should send an offer for him just to see and we got a terrific deal on it.”
Cefalu explained that searching for an artist to perform requires communication among many different groups of people. Namely, MC’s agent for contacting these artists and their crews is the director of Student Engagement, Michael Steele.
She noted that Steele and the artist would be in contact to determine price ranges, availability and overall interest in deciding to perform at Springfest.
Cefalu also noted that the NAV meet and greet this year was unique compared to past Springfest activities.
“That’s something that typically the school tries to do for the student government e-board and then this year, we were able to have volunteers,” Cefalu said.
Cefalu’s last event that she’s planning is senior week, which will be a series of activities for graduating seniors to participate in as a way to celebrate their last few months at the college.
As for the total turnout at this year’s Springfest, Cefalu told The Quadrangle that about 982 students were in attendance for the concert that evening.
Although her term as VP is coming to an end, Cefalu remains hopeful that the next Student Government e-board will plan engaging and entertaining activities for students at next year’s Springfest.
“I think that she’s [Gabriela Sandoval] gonna have great ideas,” Cefalu said. “She’s very, very intuitive. She’s been on my social life committee for a year. I’m really happy and excited that she’s gonna be doing it.”