Class & Charter will be a day to remember (or not)

by Elizabeth Foot '20, Staff Writer

Courtesy of Max Pixel

There are two definitions of Class & Charter Day. One, for the students, is a time that involves becoming "blackout" on a beautiful spring Friday before 2 PM and listening to a big-name artist perform. The other, for faculty and administrators, is the Monday after, to award faculty and student members for their contribution of the academic community. I would say they have a definition for the preceding Friday, but I doubt it would be labelled Class & Charter Day; more likely it would be: "Fingers crossed nobody goes to the hospital, falls off a building, or severely injures themselves or anybody else" Day. Even shorter: "I Need to be Off-Campus Before Noon" Day.

Regardless, both C&C days will happen. As usual, the headlining artist mattered and did not matter at all. This year, the Campus Activities Board (CAB) sent out an email asking if students wanted a bigger name for the Feb Fest comedy show and a smaller header liner for C&C day, or keep the bigger name for C&C. The students spoke and now Charli XCX, known for "Boom Clap" and other radio hits, will be performing.

I, like anyone else, is excited to hear her, but the truth of the matter is, most students on C&C day could be told they are listening to Beyonce, Charli XCX, or Justin Bieber when really Raffi or the Diddly Bops is on; no one would have a clue. There would still be claps, there would still be singing, there would still be enjoyment. So, it raises the question of whether CAB should still pay for such big names when the students are so drunk they don't remember much.

My initial answer to this is: yes. Not all students drink excessively on C&C day, so who's to say that group doesn't get full enjoyment of a big name performer? Quite honestly, you could argue the bigger the name, the safer and less belligerent students will be in order to best experience such a performance. Any students who would want to blackout Beyonce is beyond hope; there is nothing anyone can do to increase their overall safety.

Personally, while I know the excessive drinking that occurs on Class & Charter day is a little unsettling, I find it less unsettling than excessive drinking that occurs on non-school sponsored days. And from the reaction of Campus Security and other faculty members, it seems as if everyone is on the same page: letting students climb all over Ferg's roof while Campus Security keeps the peace and a watchful eye is much safer than kids running through the streets of downtown Clinton.

Everybody makes their own decisions — it's one of the learning curves of being in college. And while I don't think any student should be in the position to be so drunk they injure themselves or someone else, or for whatever reason end up in the hospital, having C&C offer lesser name artists would not affect the overall hype of the day.

In other words, people would still be drunkenly clapping and shouting; the only difference would be the quality of music. And, for all those who abstain from drinking, and even for those who drink a little, listening to a popularly-chosen singer is something everyone should be excited about and able to enjoy.

In the end, it probably won't matter. If the sun is out, everyone will have a great day.

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