Editorial
Lack of excitement for Phillip Phillips concert contrasts last year’s vibe
November 7, 2013
Phillips Phillips is coming to campus in just one short week, on Nov. 15, yet if you looked around campus you might not even know.
Last year the campus was filled with buzz and excitement of Finals Fest. There was going to be an outdoor concert featuring Phillips. Student Life put on an elaborate amount of attention just leading up to announcing of the reveal that he would be performing and posters were splattered all over campus. Every student seemed to be talking about it and how great of a choice he was for Finals Fest coming off of his American Idol victory and first hit song, “Home.”
The anticipation built up for this big event was huge, but all this excitement was shattered due Phillips having to cancel late because of health issues.
Student Life did a great job of still doing what they could to put on a good Finals Fest, but without Phillips, the energy and attendance just was not there.
To the credit of both Student Life and Phillips, he is still coming to UWRF and will be putting on a concert, but why does nobody seem to care this time? It is still a well-known performer coming to campus, and it is also still free to all students.
Every other year UWRF gets a big performer for Finals Fest and it is something that is used when recruiting prospective students.
There has been some promotion for this, such as a picture contest where students could post a picture that reminded the most of home. The person who receives the most Facebook likes will get to meet Phillips.
While this is a great idea, nobody heard about it, which is evident in the fact that only 11 people participated in the contest and posted a photo. One reason this contest may have lacked participation is it could only be found on Orgsync. While Student Life wants Orgsync to succeed, it does not get the traffic yet to host a big contest without promoting it anywhere else.
Even with the lack of promotion it is still interesting that students themselves do not seem to either know or care that Phillips will be performing.
This year has the potential to be a memorable one for UWRF. Not only will we still get Finals Fest at the end of the year with a more local band, but we get Phillips this semester. Also to be getting this all for free is a great privilege and one not be taken granted for. Phillips will be performing at UW-Eau Claire as well, but for the cost of $10 to students.
The Phillips concert has potential to be a great memory for all UWRF students and we encourage everyone to get excited and go enjoy it next week.