As excited as I am about the recent news that the Spring Concert hosted by the Fairfield University Student Association will be featuring none other than Flo Rida, I just cannot shake the fact that the event is being held off campus.
Flo Rida is great — I basically grew up listening to him as a kid. On April 22, 2022, at 8 p.m., he will be performing at the brand new Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, Conn., just a few-minute drive on I-95 for Fairfield University students.
But, why? Why off-campus? What is the purpose of that?
We haven’t had a concert in over two years. In my time here at Fairfield, I have seen nothing but COVID-19 restrictions and cancellations of major events. Some of the major selling points that brought me to Fairfield were pulled out from under me and my grade in just our first year; President’s Ball, Red Sea Madness, and even a Fall Orientation were merely pipe dreams for us.
And I get that. COVID was fresh, and no one knew how colleges would handle things. I get the safety part of it, I really do.
But take away my titles for a second and hear me as a student. I really just want a glimpse of what the normal Fairfield experience is like over the course of a year. We had President’s Ball, which was an amazing experience, and we had a normal Alumni and Family Weekend which was great too. It seemed like everything was going strong, and we even removed masks. At a certain point, every single thing pointed to having a spring concert on campus.
And the spring concert is, in fact, not on campus.
Maybe I’m being spoiled and whiny. Beggars can’t be choosers; we all asked for a spring concert and the Fairfield University Student Association came through…not with an event on campus, but buying pit tickets for the Flo Rida concert, which is a stop on his tour.
I have to preface the fact that I am still unbelievably excited for this event, and I know that FUSA will do a great job of hosting it. I understand that the hand they were dealt may not be ideal with COVID-19 restrictions, space, and especially the lack of a closed-in stadium, and I have full confidence that they will make the best out of this situation.
But the whole reason I would want to have an event hosted on campus like the spring concert is so that I can enjoy an artist that I love, right there on campus with all of my peers that I attend this amazing school with. I don’t want to be shoulder to shoulder in the pit of a concert with a bunch of random people I’ll never see again.
Also, convenience is a huge factor. Having massive amounts of students flock to the amphitheater is not going to be easy. On Friday, April 1, FUSA sent out an email to students with details of the event; in this email, it stated that FUSA will be “covering the cost for 18 buses and a limited number of Uber codes to get students to and from the venue.” Although this is a great way to combat the problem, it’s a problem I wish wouldn’t be happening in the first place. If students of the appropriate age are drinking alcohol that night, they are going to have to additionally find a safe way home. There are so many added steps to this, now that the spring concert is off-campus.
I do very much appreciate FUSA’s efforts to supply a spring concert. I’m very glad they were able to make this happen, because although there may be some headaches involved, it will still be an amazing experience, as it has been ages since I’ve been to a normal concert and I’m sure since many Fairfield students have been to one. I just wish they were able to get an artist to come to campus, and maybe host the event somewhere like Rafferty Stadium with the proper clearance.
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