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. 

Striking a Balance

Laura Yannai
SEE Venue Director
seevenue@umd.edu

One of the most common questions I get asked is, how much work do you do for SEE each week? Technically speaking, each director has five mandatory office hours a week and a weekly board meeting on Thursday afternoons. Our office hours are a time to do SEE work and a time when people outside of SEE know they can get in touch with us, and our board meetings on Thursday are a time for us to discuss new business and upcoming events.  But my work for SEE is not consistent on a week-to-week basis, nor is it prioritized the same way each week.

As Venue Director, much of my work consists of communicating, through email and telephone, with people from various campus departments. This includes but is not limited to Campus Reservations and the Department of Transportation Services (DOTS), among others. I look through artist riders to see what kind of green room, parking and non-technical setup information they have requested and figure out where I need to make these requests in order to make them happen. Sometimes it’s as simple as filling out a request form for a parking permit and faxing that to DOTS. At other times, such as for the Homecoming Comedy Show, it’s a lot more difficult. In such cases, I’m triple-checking work orders to Facilities Management that request venue access time, tables, trashcans, recycling bins, as well as hundreds of chairs – and everything needs to get delivered and set up in a certain way. At times like these, the amount of time I put into my SEE work extends well beyond the five-office hour requirement. More often than not, my friends don’t need to ask me where I am to know I’m in the SEE office.

I’m going to be honest, balancing SEE work, my outside job and my academics can be pretty challenging. We are always told that we are students first and SEE directors second. This is not always an easy guideline to adhere to. When it’s the week before Art Attack and I have about 30 things on my to-do list, it’s very hard to prioritize my studies over a phone call that absolutely has to be made or the tents for McKeldin Mall will not get delivered at the right time. It’s also hard not to skip a class when the Spring Comedy Show is happening in the Grand Ballroom in a few hours and I want to go make sure that everything is set up properly. At times like these, I’m a SEE director above all else but by no one else’s choice but my own.

On the other hand, when I have a paper due and three tests in two days, it is hard to sit in the SEE office and fill out requests for parking permits when I know that I really should be in the library studying. It’s important for me to communicate with other directors about what’s going on in my life so that if I don’t respond to e-mails right away or have to miss some office hours, everyone knows why. There are definitely times when I am a student first and a SEE director second, but as with everything else in life, it’s a balance.

In an ideal world I would be able to tell you that I’m great at balancing and that no one task gets forgotten in lieu of another. Realistically, that’s not really how it goes. I operate between two poles: on one end, I’m rushing in and out of the SEE office in a frenzy because I have a biochemistry review session to go to, and on the other end I’m spending an entire day doing nothing but SEE work. My goal is to give whatever I am working on 100 percent of my concentration. I accept that there are days when I will not be able to do any SEE work and days when I will be doing nothing but SEE work. Regardless of what I am working on, so long as I am giving it my full attention and making sure I get the job done right I know that everything is going to work out.

This work/life balance has been a valuable learning experience and one that I know every college student will experience in some way, shape or form during his or her collegiate years. If I could offer any advice, it would be this: stay organized, stay passionate and stay positive.