The Golden Days of Art Attack

Amina Goheer
Concerts Director
seeconcerts@umd.edu

As Art Attack celebrates its last year of youth (next year Art Attack turns the big 3-0), let’s take a quick trip down memory lane. The year was 1984 and Ronald Reagan was still president. His presidency inspired only the greatest things, like the Apple Macintosh and Art Attack (both introduced in the same year). Art Attack I featured Dr. George Ross, KYAG World Premier Music, Stuart Gordon, Improvisations Unlimited and Lithuanian Dance Gabija. If none of those names sound familiar, it’s because Art Attack started out as a small festival centered on student art and design, with a sprinkling of local and student musical acts. From 1984 to 2000 (with the exception of 1989 and 1990), Art Attack took place on McKeldin Mall. As the years passed by and Art Attack received more funding, SEE was able to bring in larger acts. Joan Jett, George Clinton, The Fugees and The Roots all passed through the Mall. 

And then Y2K happened. Art Attack that year was entitled “AAXVII: Everyone on the Mall,” and, boy, did that title come to life. Bloodhound Gang and Outkast performed together, bringing out almost 20,000 students to McKeldin Mall (if you haven’t seen the awesome picture of that crowd, then sneak into the SEE office, fight your way past our aggressive Office Manager and steal a glance at the picture mounted on the wall). Bloodhound Gang’s performance not only brought out droves of spectators, but also packs of protestors who took offense at the group’s sexist and racist lyrics. Four arrests and three hospitals trips convinced campus administrators that Art Attack couldn’t continue on the Mall, where there was no way to properly protect and organize the crowd. As a result, Art Attack was relocated to its new home, Byrd Stadium.  


Since then, Art Attack has featured guest names like Common, Wyclef Jean, All-American Rejects, Nelly, Weezer, Ludacris and this year, B.o.B. Art Attack may no longer be on the Mall but we can still embrace the great University of Maryland pastime. Can't wait to SEE you there. 


Tickets are still available and can be purchased at www.umdtickets.com. 

Leadership Advice from One Student Leader to Another

Chelsea Soobitsky
President
seepresident@umd.edu

Nine days until Art Attack! This means for us graduating seniors, 15 days until the last day of classes and 25 days until graduation. Sorry for being that person, but it’s true, the real world just got that much more, real.

In one of my classes purposed to round out my public relations education, I was assigned to the client text4baby, a texting service who strives to educate pregnant women and new mothers about the various aspects of baby and mother health. Naturally, my group members and I signed up for the texts as to better understand our client and the other day, I received a text that read:

With delivery near, you may feel excited & happy, anxious & afraid. These feelings are normal! Get support from your partner, family & friends.

Great… so graduating college provokes the same emotions as having a child… wonderful.  But in all seriousness and at the risk of becoming an emotional wreck and unloading all of my sappiness onto you readers, my experience at the University of Maryland and with SEE have brought with them many great memories and life-changing experiences that I hope you, as my peers and colleagues, will have the same luxury to experience during your years in school as well. So with that, I would like to pass on the following advice:

• Try everything.  Leaving home and coming to school can be scary, especially if you went the random roommate route or decided to go to a school far away from home. Getting involved is a great way to make friends, build new interests and who knows, maybe if you’re like me, find an organization or cause you are truly passionate about.

• When you commit to something, actually commit.  Speaking of passion, if you are going to try something new and then make a commitment to it, than actually, wholeheartedly commit. It pains me to see people fall through on an obligation, especially one that was voluntary to begin with. When you commit to something and don’t follow through you’re letting down those around you and are losing out on the opportunity to do something new and potentially learn something new about yourself.

• Don’t be afraid to quit.  Getting involved on campus can be a very rewarding experience. Typically, you meet new people, learn something about yourself and maybe even have fun in the process. However, sometimes things don’t fit. Or something that was once great simply isn’t anymore. And that’s okay. If you no longer feel passionate about a group or cause or something just isn’t “you,” it is okay not to devote any more of your time and instead, dedicate your time to other, more worthwhile causes or organizations that make you happy.

• Know your resources.  At a school as large at the University of Maryland, knowing the resources at your disposal isn’t exactly easy. Resources aren’t going to be laid out for you on the first day of school and advisors certainly aren’t going to hold your hand as you walk down McKeldin Mall. If you want to know about something on campus, you are going to have to go in search of the answers yourself. Know that all the resources you can possibly imagine are probably right in front of you; you just might need to look a little harder to find them.

• Accept the challenge of leadership (or become a leadership minor).  The classes in the leadership minor have by far been some of the most worthwhile classes I have taken at the university. It is in these classes that I have been able to learn about myself, my strengths, my weaknesses, etc.  However, even if you cannot become a leadership minor or enroll in the EDCP classes you should still accept the challenge of becoming a leader on campus. Sometimes it’s as easy as signing up at the First Look Fair and other times it’s a more rigorous application or election process. But you’ll never know if you can do it unless you try. Another little piece of leadership advice: the best thing that you can receive as a leader is constructive criticism. Take it in stride, move forward and improve.

As President of SEE, I have learned a thing or two about leadership. As a leader you must gain respect and trust, and to do that, you must forever be honest, dedicated and caring. You must do your best to inspire others and guide the organization and the individuals toward positive change (change being the operative word). While you can strive to always be a friend to the organization’s members, you are going to have to make difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions. While you can strive to always do the right thing, you are going to make mistakes. And while you will start out with a plethora of goals, you are going to have to choose a few to focus on in order to achieve success. But with perseverance, compassion and patience you can find that leader inside of you and inspire others in the way in which you have hopefully been inspired.

And so I thank you University of Maryland: for sharing your wisdom and challenging me as well as introducing me to the wonderful people on this campus.

I will be sad to leave SEE and the university post graduation, yet I am certain that the organization will go on to do great things and am hopeful that a piece of my leadership and influence will be left behind for years to come in both the heart of the organization and in the hearts of the directors I have been so privileged to work with.

I hope you will join me at the annual end of the year Art Attack celebration and enjoy the company of B.o.B. with The Dean’s List. Tickets can be purchased at www.umdtickets.com.

Rebranding a Brand

Seth Backer
Marketing Director
seemarketing@umd.edu

In any organization or company, the use of a poignant and recognizable brand is an essential part to reaching a platform of success.  For the past several years, Student Entertainment Events (SEE) had utilized the following slogan, “Entertain the Turtle.”  While opinions may vary on the effectiveness of this particular sentence, the slogan itself was never fully utilized on and around campus.

Over this past summer, SEE’s Promotional Team, consisting of the Marketing, Advertising, Communication Systems, and Public Relations Directors, looked to not only rebrand SEE, but also to create and utilize a slogan that could be both durable and flexible.  With inspiration from past advisors and SEE Directors, the board officially passed the new and improved slogan: “This is SEE.”

Just as Nike has branded itself with three very simple words, “Just Do It,” SEE plans to use a saying that is easy to remember, and impossible to forget.  Think about it this way: freshmen first coming to Maryland or students who may not recognize the many events on this campus often ask SEE Directors and advisors “What is SEE?”  Now we can simply answer, “This is SEE.”  SEE is Maryland’s student programming board-- the minds behind lectures, comedy shows, concerts, special events, performing arts events, movies and musical arts.  SEE is a culmination of teams (Security, Marketing, and Tech) and individuals who work nonstop to bring the University diverse programming.  SEE is what you get when you combine heart and passion with the determination to sellout, inspire, and forever impact the collegiate years of Terrapins here in College Park.

So from this point forward, and hopefully for years to come look closely at the t-shirts, posters, and other promotional materials you receive.  “This is SEE” is bound to make a positive impact on campus, and I can only hope it will do the same for you.  We hope to see you at our events!  Go to www.see.umd.edu for more information.