There’s an organization on campus devoted to bringing quality entertainment to the University of Iowa and Iowa City communities: SCOPE.
On Sept. 6, it will be bringing Grammy award winning artist T-Pain to Hubbard Park to put on a concert as a part of Hawkapalooza 2012.
SCOPE will collaborating with the Hawks Nest to put on an Ultimate Tailgate in which people can partake in a variety of activities, such as common tailgating games and winning prizes before the concert at 7 p.m.
“The daylong range of activities will model fun, responsible tailgating behavior while providing students with the chance to congregate, channeling their spirit for fall athletics and building momentum for the evening’s festivities,” says SCOPE’s website.
However, when students attend an event put on by a student-run university organization aiming to promote responsible tailgating and team spirit, how is listening to some guy who got famous by tracks titled “Bartender,” “Buy U A Drank,” and “Take Your Shirt Off” helping that cause?
The concerts in Hubbard Park draw some negative attention as it is without having to worry about the subject content of the show.
William Nelson, the director of the Center for Student Involvement & Leadership, said that unlike the Homecoming concerts — which have become a tradition in Iowa City — many people in the neighborhoods surrounding the university are unaware of the Hawkapalooza concerts.
“Noise has been an issue,” he said. “We get complaints from the city, and that’s usually because our public notice wasn’t effective.”
Nelson did acknowledge though that a considerable part of his job, and the university’s, is educating the students running the show.
He said that many of the students involved with SCOPE get into production and event-planning careers after college and rely on the experiential learning running a concert requires.
Even so, we should still be concerned about the artist selection. It’s one thing to get an accomplished artist to play in Iowa City, but did we really have to get the guy whose song titles are reminiscent of an unmentionable night at [insert bar name here]?