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ANNIVERSARY FROM PAGE 1
Though the focus on securing a student union is now left to black-and-white press clippings and fond, fleeting memories, UU remains an integral part of SU’s campus. “We’re working with Alumni Affairs on a few things,” said Lindsey Colegrove, current UU president. “We want the first part of our celebration to be an open house during Orange Central so students can come in and see everything we do.” Times have changed since Deckard was a student. He remembers having to go on stage in the spring of 1967 to tell students that The Four Tops, whom UU had booked for a show, were nowhere to be found. “I probably feared for my life a little bit,” he said and laughed. It wouldn’t be the only time A-list acts would refuse to play at SU. In 1971, Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band objected to a gig at Manley Field House since it still had dirt floors, according to the SU Archives. Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Neil Young turned down concerts in 1979 because the Field House wouldn’t let them “fly” the sound, a process that would have involved rigging the sound system through the ceiling, according to the archives. But eventually, UU’s concert programming became one of the organization’s calling cards. The first Block Party concert, now a MayFest staple, took place in 1989 and was headlined by Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers, according to the archives. Bonfires and riots at 1998’s Block Party caused the concert to be cancelled until it was reinstated in 2000, according to the archives. Since then, Block Party has had more hits than misses. Rob Dekker, UU’s president during
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fall 2011 and spring 2012, said one of his proudest achievements was helping to bring rapper Drake to the Carrier Dome in 2010. It was the hip-hop artist’s biggest concert at that point in his career. “It wasn’t long after that show that he just blew up,” Dekker said. “It was such a cool feeling to have him come to SU before that happened.” Dekker is quick to defer credit, but the former president also played a pivotal role in adding a brand-new concert to SU’s arsenal: Rock the Dome, which featured Ludacris and Rick Ross for its maiden performance. “As much as I’m proud of it, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without help from the previous presidents,” he said. “We all put a few years of planning into motion with it.” Rock the Dome continued the tradition of UU, polling students on artists they’d like to see perform on campus. Deckard said that printing and handing out surveys during his time at UU was a big deal, although the polls have gone digital in more recent years. UU’s concerts have grown bigger in scale since its inception, largely in part to establishing an annual budget at the tail end of 2010. Andrew Beyda, president of UU during fall 2010 and spring 2011, said that was an important part of programming bigger shows. “It really allowed us to get talent before other schools could,” Beyda said. “It’s something we tried to do for a long time, and it was something we needed.” It’s a far cry from the earlier days of what are now blockbuster concerts on campus. Adam Gorode, chairman of the first annual Juice Jam concert in 2004, recalls when the concert was a free affair hosted in the parking lot near Lawrinson Hall. Method Man, De La Soul and Phantom Planet drew a crowd of 3,000 students. The show isn’t free anymore, but sells more tickets than ever. This year’s Juice Jam broke the concert’s ticket sales record with more than 7,000 students purchasing tickets to see disk jockey Calvin Harris and rapper Childish Gambino. “It’s pretty cool that it’s been going on this
PROTEST FROM PAGE 3
some of the ROTC members and protesters chose to quietly go about their work, others chose to engage in conversation. The discussion that followed would not have been out of place in a political science or international relations discussion section. Each participant made polite but impassioned statements of their views, and voices rarely rose above normal speaking level. Topics of discussion ranged from the allocation of space on campus to the invasion of Iraq, to reasons for joining ROTC. Tyler Cowan, a senior Middle Eastern studies and political science major and ROTC member, said he had no problem with the protesters utilizing the space and the two groups had a good discussion. “They asked some pretty tough questions
YOGURTLAND FROM PAGE 3
Every two months, the company comes out with new flavors that will be available in all Yogurtland locations across the country, she said. The Marshall Street location will change its flavor lineup every week. Next week, white chocolate macadamia nut and blackberry passion fruit tart will make their debut, Laubach said. “It allows us to switch it up and keep people coming back,” she said. Rhiannon Leto, a sophomore biology major on a pre-med track, is one of those people.
courtesy of su archives long,” Gorode said. “It’s really been nine years? Man, I feel old.” Gorode said being chairman of 2004’s Juice Jam was like having a full-time job. They modeled the show after an older campus tradition, what used to be a big outdoor festival on Lancaster Avenue. “We’d spend weekends and nights in the office,” Gorode said. “People think it’s all the glory of meeting celebrities, but that’s not it at all.” Even the concert’s name was borrowed. A 2003 concert called Juice Jam took place in Goldstein Auditorium, but Gorode and UU wanted to bring the music outside. However, Gorode still considered himself a bigger fan of the Bandersnatch Music Series, which showcases smaller musical acts. He was thrilled when the event moved to a bigger space than the confines of a parking lot. The concerted moved to Skytop Field on South Campus for fear of the Quad being torn up by concertgoers. “We have a tiny, tiny window of good weather
and we tried to answer them,” he said. “But most of us are under 21 and we’re being asked these very difficult policy questions.” One of the protesters’ main criticisms of ROTC was that it takes advantage of the economic crisis by offering free tuition and health benefits in exchange for military service. That money should instead be used to enable all students to attend college, said Ursula Rozum, a Syracuse resident and the Green Party candidate for the 24th Congressional District. Lt. Col. Michael Kubala, a professor of military science, said this is the first protest inside the ROTC facilities since he’s been at SU. He said he was fine with the protesters using the space and that the Constitution gives them the right to do that. But he said he disagrees with the protesters’ view of ROTC. “We teach leadership. Same thing as the business and public affairs guys do,” he said, noting that ROTC members are also students. Ian Merritt, a senior American history and
“In Queens, we don’t have a Yogurtland,” she said. “I’m a big fan of frozen yogurt so I’m very excited about this being here.” Leto said the selection is what is going to keep her coming back. “I love all the toppings,” she said. “My favorite is the cookie dough bites.” The environment is stress free, Leto said. She said the staff is very friendly, which makes the place very relaxed. The cold Syracuse winters will not stop Leto from making the journey to Marshall Street. Said Leto: “I would come, even in the cold Syracuse winter.” nrcardon@syr.edu
in Syracuse,” Gorode said. “We decided to take advantage of it.” But for alumni like Darren Goldberg, UU president during fall 2009 and spring 2010, the best part of putting on the concerts wasn’t meeting the acts he helped book or setting up behind the scenes. “I’d love just walking around and getting to talk to students,” Goldberg said. “It was great to just hear how excited they were.” Fifty years. Such a span of time holds many memories, but UU won’t spend too long waiting around on memory lane. Colegrove’s crystal ball for the organization’s future is still murky, but the broad strokes are starting to take shape. She hopes to get the ball rolling on adding larger-scale concerts and advance cinema screenings, among other goals. Said Colegrove: “We’re looking for new ways to enhance programming, but we don’t know what it will be yet. It might not be this year or next one, but students will definitely see change.”
ervanrhe@syr.edu @therealvandyman
ROTC HISTORY The Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corp. first began when President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Defense Act of 1916. Civilian colleges and universities had students participating in military training by 1819. However, training was not organized under one governmental body until the act was signed in 1916. There are 273 Army ROTC programs at colleges and universities in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. More than 35,000 students are enrolled in ROTC programs at their colleges. Source: rotc.usaac.army.mil/history
psychology major and ROTC member, was unfazed by the presence of the protestors. “I know it sounds cliche,” he said. “But we fight for their right to do this.” jliannet@syr.edu
CENTRO FROM PAGE 3
Centro hoped to begin transfers at the new facility in late July, but this was delayed due to traffic signal modifications in the area, and because getting the required approvals from the New York State Department of Transportation took longer than excepted, according to Centro’s website. dmsegelb@syr.edu