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William H. Kelly III
Editor-In-Chief
Students at Jackson State University were shocked to learn on Oct. 25, that the Homecoming Concert, which was to feature Lil’ Wayne and 2Chainz, was cancelled.
The concert confusion began approximately three weeks ago when posters advertising the event were taken off social media and other campus outlets. Rumors surfaced at that time that the concert was cancelled. The Flash contacted JSU Student Affairs staff Arron Richardson, assistant director for Special Initiatives and Vivian Fuller, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, who assured the Flash that the concert would be held. Later that week, posters appeared again with the concert date moved from Friday, Oct. 28 to Tuesday, Oct. 25.
Students were also given the chance to obtain a free ticket sponsored by the Campus Activities Board by bringing 10 can goods/non-perishable items. When news that 1000 tickets were being given away, students flocked the Student Center last week for a chance to get one of the 200 tickets to be given away daily.
Once again however, social media rumors surfaced that the concert would not take place as scheduled. On Tuesday, Oct. 25, the day of the concert, University officials released this statement via the social media sites of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. On the evening of Oct. 24, Lil Wayne also released on his social media news of the concert cancellation.
Upon arriving in office of The Blue & White Flash, staff members found a copy of a concert contract slipped under the door. The Flash immediately reached out to Student Affairs staff to inform them that The Flash was given an unsolicited copy of the contract and to ask questions in regards to the concert cancellation and information contained in the contract.
Emailed questions and a request for a copy of the contract to verify the validity of the one received were sent to Richardson, Kendrick Spencer, assistant vice president for Student Affairs and Fuller. The Flash has not yet received a response from those emailed at the time of posting but check online and in the printed edition for updates on Thursday, Oct. 27.
Many students on campus expressed anger, disappointment and embarrassment for the University regarding the concert cancellation.
Dineka Mitchell, a sophomore healthcare administration major from Jackson, Miss., is one of those students.
“This is an outrage! I paid $30 dollars for a ticket and now what,” said Mitchell.
Brooke Felix, a sophomore biology major from Gulfport, Miss., said, “I am highly disappointed. It is also very embarrassing to the school’s name.”
Other students stated that after receiving information just last week on Founders’ Day that the school was facing financial issues, this news was another blow to students’ already low morale.
Eddreka Gillem, a senior biology major from Leland, Miss. said, “We are just taking L after L, I was really looking forward to the concert.”
Ryun Moore, a sophomore computer science major from Jackson, Miss. said, “It is a big disappointment to the student body of JSU. We are headlining enough and this really makes us look bad.”
Diamond Wooten, a junior accounting major from Jackson, Miss. said, “JSU hyped students up for nothing. It was the biggest talk of Homecoming and now we don’t have any answers.
Check the Flash online and the printed edition Thursday, Oct. 27 for more information on this and other issues.
[…] students on campus expressed disappointment and embarrassment for the University regarding the concert […]