SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) — Syracuse’s University Union announced its annual ‘Block Party’ lineup on April 18. University Union, a student organization, has run the event for over 20 years at SU’s campus. Block Party is known for bringing some of the most popular artists to the school. The annual event will be headlined by Portland rapper, Aminé, with Faye Webster set to open; a decision that has brought some backlash to the UU crew who’s already dealing with controversy.
The UU team consists of nine board members and an executive board that has been planning the spring event since December 2022. University Union’s Director of Public Relations, Quinn Schmidt, credited the group’s teamwork on the concert despite all being current students.
“All it takes is one of those nine board members to slip up and then we’re scrambling behind the 8-ball, trying to make sure we’re putting on this event. It’s difficult for anyone to do. But then, you put on top of that, two or three on-campus obligations for other organizations on top of your student obligations and responsibilities- and it gets to be a lot,” said Schmidt.
UU’s concert directors, Mo Morris and Laurel Matsui, went through a variety of challenges putting together the lineup, said Schmidt. The process included researching potential artists, dodging schedule conflicts, and managing a large budget before landing on Aminé, according to Schmidt.
“It’s like putting together a puzzle. Most people think building a lineup is just sending out emails and saying, ‘Hey, come play Syracuse, we’ll give you a bunch of money.’ Booking a lineup for a show like this is a massive undertaking and incredibly difficult,” said Schmidt.
However, some students don’t share the same gratuity as others for University Union. On social media, commenters argued that bigger artists have performed for the event before, such as notable rappers like Travis Scott and 21 Savage. Syracuse University senior, Marco Tinetto, has gone to multiple UU-created concerts in his time at the school including Block Party 2022 featuring Baby Keem.
“I think people are completely disappointed. Block Party is supposed to be the big one at the end of the year where they send off everybody so it’s like a goodbye to all the seniors for being here for four years. And, with the amount of tuition that we pay and all the students that attend here, I feel like they could do a lot better,” said Tinetto.
University Union encountered another problem- this time internally- after former vice president of the organization, Ashley Taylor, resigned on April 17. In a public Instagram story on the same day, The SU senior stated there was “high individualized preference and extreme bias” inside the organization. Schmidt claimed the VP’s exit hasn’t distracted UU from putting on the best event possible.
“Despite this unfortunate occurrence, all of University Union, myself included, are continuing to focus all our efforts on making Block Party 2023 the best possible event for the Syracuse and ESF communities,” said Schmidt.
Block Party 2023 is scheduled for April 28 with tickets accessible to Syracuse University and SUNY ESF students for as low as $20. In 2023, the day will begin with the first-ever “Block Darty” concert on the university’s quad, with food trucks, merchandise giveaways, and performances from three artists that have yet to be announced. Despite the noise surrounding the event, Schmidt is expecting a great day for everyone involved.
“[University Union] really pride[s] ourselves on making our events accessible. We like to say that we don’t put on comedy shows or concerts; we put on experiences that will hopefully create some lasting memories for our students long after our college days are over,” said Schmidt.
