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.

Be Our Guest: Behind the Scenes with the Hospitality Director

Shadia Weeks
Hospitality Director
seehospitality@umd.edu

Orchids on the coffee table, one bowl of strictly green M&Ms and 24 bottles of room temperature water—imported from Switzerland.

 You might have heard stories about the outrageous requests of glorified superstars and the unfortunate souls who kneel at their beck and call. This is not one of those stories.

As Hospitality Director for Student Entertainment Events, I “coordinate hospitality needs for all SEE events, including event staff and performer needs.” What that means is: I take care of catering and other hospitality needs for all event staff, namely SEE employees. In addition, I provide talent, artists, performers and their crews with whatever their hearts desire (within reason) as stipulated in their riders.

The rider is basically a checklist of all the things artists request when they come to a venue. They often include dinner preferences, snacks, drinks, towels and linens, cutlery, gadgets and a plethora of other goodies. Riders vary drastically from artist to artist. Some are long, detailed and tedious, while others are brief, vague and almost completely uninformative. Some artists don’t even have riders.  Either way, it’s up to me to make sure whoever visits our campus feels completely taken care of. I want the artist to feel comfortable at our university and have a nice greenroom they can relax in before and after performing. Sometimes they are very pleased. At our Back to School Concert last fall, the headliner Mac Miller even gave me a hug when I handed him a bottle of apple juice after the show. The juice was listed on his rider, so I got it. It doesn’t take much to make the artist happy, just get them what they asked for.

At all-hands-on-deck events, my job gets twice as big. This is where providing hospitality for event staff really comes into play. Not only do I have to prepare for the visiting artist, but I’m feeding all SEE employees, which includes SEE directors, advisors and team members. There are usually three all-hands-on-deck events a year, the biggest being Art Attack in the spring. Art Attack is a two-day production even though the concert is only a few hours on a Friday night. I’ve already stated working on Art Attack, even though the show isn’t until May.

I placed my first official 2012 Art Attack order last week when I ordered all the rental cars we’ll need (including four golf carts, everyone’s favorite part of Art Attack production). Because this event requires two days of production, I’ll soon coordinate all the catered meals for both days including two breakfasts, two lunches and one massive dinner for the 100+ people who will work the show on May 4^th. Once the riders come in for our headliner (sorry kids, you’ve still got to wait for that one) I’ll start making arrangements for his/her greenroom as well.

Being Hospitality Director can definitely become stressful at times, but with everyone’s help and a seriously detailed “To-Do” list, we make it work. My work can be tedious, but in the end it’s so rewarding to see all the students having a great time in the stands at a sold-out event. Don’t let the movies disillusion you; artists are not innately maniacal egomaniacs with ludicrous demands and unforgiving tendencies, at least the ones that have come to Maryland in the past year. Hopefully I’m not proved wrong in the future. *crosses fingers*

SEE Security: My Best College Decision

Ayelet Kravitz
Security Director
seesecurity@umd.edu

One of the many ways to be involved with SEE is being on the Security Team.  The Security Team works during SEE events to secure the venue and ensure the safety of both audience and talent alike.  Typically during an event, the Security Team will check tickets, give out wristbands, guard green rooms and make sure people are coming in and going out the appropriate entrances and exits in an organized manner, while also making sure that the artist’s security and privacy is not compromised.

I joined the Security Team my first semester of my freshman year – I went to the SEE General Interest Meeting in the Baltimore Room in the Stamp Student Union and like most freshmen, my new college environment overwhelmed me.  I had no idea what SEE was, I was just there because one of my new friends convinced me to go because it sounded “cool.”  Honestly, I could hardly hear anything that was said during the meeting, except at the end when I heard “and you get paid!”  Paid?  Alright, sign me up!

Joining the Security Team (or just SEE in general) was one of the best decisions I ever made.  In addition to meeting new people, I had a priceless and unique college experience that only about 150 students on this campus will have each year.  Then, in the spring semester of sophomore year, I became the incoming Security Director on the SEE Executive Board. This was the second best decision I ever made.  As the Security Director, I was asked “What is your vision for the Security Team?  What are your goals as Security Director?”  I thought about my year on the Security Team, what I didn’t like and what I wanted to improve.  The answer was clear – personalize, socialize, and improve the overall experience for the members of the Security Team.

In the past year and a half as the Security Director, I have worked hard to fulfill my goals and make my vision for the Security Team come true.  My first step was creating a Facebook group just for the Security Team members to enable them to reach out and friend each other, keep in touch and create a social aspect to being on the Security Team.  Next, I began to introduce name games before working events so that everyone would know each other and be able to make some sort of connection with each other outside of SEE.  I could slowly see the transformation of my team, from being shy and quiet to always talking and leaving with a friend or two to walk back home after an event.

My most recent step toward accomplishing my goal was ordering t-shirts that SEE Security Team members could keep and wear proudly.  I made sure to ask the Security Team (via the Facebook group) what they wanted the shirts to look like.  Once the design was decided on, we ordered the t-shirts from ooShirts at  www.ooshirts.com, and began distributing them to anyone on the team who had worked two or more events during the 2011-2012 school year.

I do my best to make the experience of being on the Security Team feel more like being part of a club, rather than a job.  I want it to be rewarding, memorable and most of all, fun.  I want to make joining the Security Team everyone’s best decision, like it was for me.

If this sounds like something you would like to get involved with, don’t hesitate to email me at seesecurity@umd.edu with any questions you might have.  If you’re still not convinced, maybe this video will help! 

Happy Holidays from all of us at SEE!

We wish everyone a happy end of the semester and a happy and healthy winter break! SEE you in January! 

How to Haunt the Stamp

Eliana Geller
Special Events Director
seespecialevents@umd.edu

It all began when I was an incoming SEE director in March 2011.  I was training to become the Special Events Director when, at a weekly SEE Executive Board meeting, the President approached the Board about Pepsi Funding.  Every semester, Pepsi will give student groups the opportunity to apply for event grants and SEE had the opportunity to submit two proposals.  The SEE Director who makes the proposal has to thoroughly explain the event.  He or she must describe how it will appeal to a wide audience of campus citizens, contribute to the development of a campus community and increase the opportunity for cultural and social exchange.  After reviewing our proposals, Pepsi will decide if they want to co-sponsor the events proposed. 

Because I would be a programmer the next semester, I had the opportunity to present an idea to Pepsi.  I chose to propose a haunted house to take place during the month of October, around Halloween.  The previous Special Events Director had given me the idea and in researching entertainment companies, I came across one that brings giant haunted houses to locations across the US.  I called the company and spoke to a representative who gave me details about the haunted house and prospective dates.  This would serve as important information for my proposal.  I asked the company’s representative to put a date on hold for SEE.  SEE cannot officially commit to any events until we have research based off of student surveys to back it up as well as full Executive Board approval.

Shortly after I sent my proposal to Pepsi, they agreed to co-sponsor the haunted house.  Next, I approached the SEE Board about the event at a weekly meeting.  I told the board that the company would come to campus to set up a 40 ft x 40 ft haunted house tent structure.  I was hoping to have the event on the Hornbake Plaza.  In case of rain however, I reserved the Grand Ballroom in the Stamp Student Union.  The company brings everything necessary to fill a haunted house.  However, they do not bring people to “haunt” the house so I was challenged with finding “scarers.”  The Executive Board approved my proposal and so I was able to move onto the next step of reserving the haunted house.  The company then sent us contracts that, once signed, would make the event official.

By the time fall semester started, the only thing left to do was find “scarers” to fill the haunted house.  I sent emails to faculty at the theatre department, to student groups, and to the SEE Tech and Security teams.  I received some responses but not enough to have a completely functional haunted house.  And so, I turned to my fellow SEE Directors to help me out.  Almost everyone on the Executive Board stepped up to put on a costume and frighten students.  I could not have been more thankful.  The Directors’ willingness to always lend a helping hand makes me so glad to be a part of this organization.  As a Board, we will support one another through anything.

That week, I watched the weather like a hawk.  It could not rain on Wednesday (the date of the haunted house)!  That would ruin the event!  As I sat through an exam on that Wednesday at 1pm and listened to the rain fall outside, my heart broke.  I’d been envisioning a giant structure taking over Hornbake Plaza for months and suddenly rain was pushing my event indoors.  As I walked to the Stamp, the event’s rain location, I accepted the fate of the event.  The show would go on!  The company’s van arrived around 2 p.m. and we immediately got started setting up the haunted house.  Loading in all of the supplies was hysterical as we were bringing in zombie babies, creepy clowns and giant spiders.  It took us three hours to put the whole haunted house together.  The haunters arrived and put on their costumes just before 6 p.m. and then we opened the doors.

It was amazing to watch people pour into the Grand Ballroom and hear the screams come from the house.  Despite the event relocation, almost 375 students walked through the haunted house in three hours.  We received great feedback and all parties involved had an incredible time.  Things went so well that we may even consider making this an annual event!  Stay tuned with SEE to find out!

Find Funding for your Events

Leyla Korkut
Vice President of Finance
seevpfinance@umd.edu

If you’re part of a student group and you want to put on some great events, but don’t really have the funding to do it, here are some ways to beef up your budget. 

SEE Review Board Funding: If you already have one student group co-sponsoring your event, then you can apply for SEE Review Board (SRB) funding.  The SRB helps promote diverse programming and provides financial support to student groups that are interested in putting on events.  Student groups that are interested in getting funds from the SRB simply need to fill out a short application on the Co-Sponsorship page of the SEE website. Applying for SEE Review Board co-sponsorship is easy!  All you need to do is fill out various details about the event such as which venue you’ve reserved, what other groups are co-sponsoring and how much the event is expected to cost.  If you’re not sure how to plan an event, then you can stop by the SEE Office in 0221 Stamp Student Union, pick up an event-planning checklist and talk with one of the SRB representatives about your ideas.  Make sure that you plan in advance!  If you’re applying for SRB funding, you need to do so at least 45 days in advance of your event.

SEE Review Board Emergency Funding:  Suppose your student group was sponsoring an outdoor event and you paid for everything you needed and took care of all of the logistics.  Then suddenly, you find out the day before that it’s going to rain on the day of your event and now you have to move it to another venue. In order to change the venue, you have to pay an additional fee. The only problem is, your group has already exhausted all of its funding on the event and can’t afford the extra expense. What to do? Apply for SEE Review Board Emergency Funding, of course!  

SRB Emergency Funding is an option for student groups that have already received SRB funding and have run into unexpected costs and need financial assistance to keep their event going.  Your student group can apply for up to $1,000 in SRB Emergency Funding.  You must apply at least one week before the event to qualify for funding. The funding is meant to be used as a last resort and for emergencies only. The SRB will generally not cover costs that result from planning within the student group’s control, so make sure that you’re doing your best to plan your event in the most effective way possible. 

Student Groups: Many groups underestimate the power of co-sponsoring with other student groups. By simply joining forces with other groups you can cut down the costs for an event by dividing up responsibilities. For instance, one group can handle venue costs while another group handles talent fees. By sharing the expenses, the event becomes much more affordable.  

University Departments:  If your event may be relevant to a University department, then you should consider them as potential co-sponsors.  In the past, student groups have worked with University departments to put on educational events, lectures, seminars, and concerts.

There are also other funding options for students outside of SEE:

• SGA Group Help Fund
• Campus Green Fund
• Hoff Funding Board
• Pepsi Enhancement Fund

These are just a few ideas to help fund your way to a great event. Good luck and happy hunting!

How to Join SEE

Nate Adler
Membership Director
seemembership@umd.edu

In case you missed the General Interest Meeting on Tuesday, September 20, there are various ways to get involved with Student Entertainment Events (SEE) depending on how much time you are willing to commit to the organization.  Since SEE is responsible for coordinating so many events, there are 22 Director positions that make up the SEE Executive Board, as well as three teams that assist with the technical, security, and marketing aspects of our events.  Any UMD undergraduate student can join the teams to help out at events; however, applications for SEE Director positions become available in the fall, usually in mid to late October.

The Tech and Security Team members are paid, and allow members to work the events they choose, attend those events for free and get fed well (when working over meal times).  For more information about how to join the Tech Team, email Adam Reeves, SEE Technical Director, at seetechnical@umd.edu.  For more information about the Security Team, email Ayelet Kravitz, SEE Security Director, at seesecurity@umd.edu. 

The Marketing Team is not paid; however, the positions are incentive based; therefore, the more time one puts in, the more swag, autographs, and free tickets one can receive.  A new position, Marketing Team Liaison, is being implemented this fall in order to collaborate with the Marketing Director and Marketing Team.  The two Marketing Team Liaisons will be responsible for organizing incentives to keep interest in the Marketing Team members, as well as coordinate campus-wide marketing efforts before events.  Applications for this position are due by October 5.  If interested, contact Seth Backer, SEE Marking Director, at seemarketing@umd.edu for the application and with any questions.  You can also ask Seth for more information about how to join the Marketing Team.

Almost all of the SEE Director positions are unpaid, except for the two Office Managers.  Although these Director positions are great leadership experiences to have on one’s résumé, one may ask why someone would be interested in committing so much time and working so intensely on planning events without being paid during the school year.  SEE offers a diverse range of friendships outside of one’s area of study, with students ranging from the business and engineering schools to even the Arabic Flagship Program.  With almost 100 programs a year, the 22 Directors are constantly together, whether it is planning, executing, or just enjoying the event during or post show.

Another benefit for SEE Directors is having the opportunity to work with agents and the entertainment industry.  Although this may not be as glamorous as it looks on Entourage, having the professional and social skills to coordinate events with agents and performers is an important life-skill and can still be enjoyable.  By having Directors coordinate events in various areas (music, comedy, lectures, films, special events, or performing arts), Directors are able to become involved in the entertainment industry by interacting with those professionals.  As a part of the Executive Board for SEE, Directors also have the opportunity to formally introduce proposals for future events, coordinate the promotion or behind-the-scenes execution of events, create recruitment and outreach strategies for the organization, and much more.

Another obvious perk of working for Student Entertainment Events is meeting the performers who SEE brings to campus.  While I was driving Mac Miller and his crew to the venue for the Back to School Concert, one of them asked me if I got paid well for my position.  I laughed and replied, “No, why would I get paid to hang out with you guys and Mac Miller all day?”  For the last week all of my friends have told me how lucky I am to experience that opportunity and actually hang out with such a popular figure.  Although some positions in SEE are paid, I have held my position with Student Entertainment Events for only a few weeks and cannot even describe how unforgettable all of the experiences have been.  Meeting the celebrities that SEE and the University of Maryland are able to bring to campus is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Being involved in such a significant organization to the University of Maryland campus is an amazing feeling: knowing that you helped bring such substantial entertainment figures for the benefit of the students.

More specific information about all of the Director positions can be found on our website at http://www.see.umd.edu/directors.php, and make sure to watch the SEE website and Facebook and Twitter accounts for updates on the applications. Please note if chosen as a SEE Director, you will serve a three-semester term from Spring 2011 through Spring 2012. Directors must attend weekly SEE Executive Board meetings on Thursdays at 5 pm, participate in “all hands on deck” events, hold five office hours a week, and attend a SEE retreat once a semester. Directors must also maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA. As you know, SEE is an organization in the entertainment industry, so working nights and weekends should be expected.

Feel free to contact me at seemembership@umd.edu if you are interested in becoming involved with the organization.  I look forward to helping you become a part of SEE!

SEE’s Back to School Concert Featuring Mac Miller

Kiera Zitelman
Musical Arts Director
seemusicalarts@umd.edu

The 2011 fall musical arts concert will follow a long tradition of giving UMD students the opportunity to see an up-and-coming artist for little cost in a small, intimate venue, and this year is no exception. On September 21^st, SEE is proud to bring Mac Miller, Casey Veggies and The Come Up to the Grand Ballroom, which has a capacity of 800 and is the largest venue in the Adele H. Stamp Student Union—Center of Campus Life. I am excited to follow in the tradition of excellent back to school shows – a list that includes a sold-out Chiddy Bang and the White Panda concert last fall and Matt & Kim in 2009.

Some students may be unaware of the distinction between SEE’s Musical Arts Director and Concerts Director. These are unique positions with different missions. The Concerts Director programs large-scale musical events, including Art Attack and a fall concert. These events are aimed at a big audience – this past May’s Art Attack XXVIII featuring Nelly, for example, sold out 8,000 available seats in Byrd Stadium. The cost of talent and production for these events is very high and consumes a huge part of SEE’s annual budget, funded in part by your student activities fee. As SEE’s Musical Arts Director, I work with a smaller budget to coordinate smaller, more intimate musical events and “provide diverse musical experiences primarily in the Stamp Student Union” (http://see.umd.edu/directors.php#musicalarts). I produce a spring and fall concert featuring professional artists, in addition to multiple opportunities for student bands throughout the year, including Battle of the Bands each April.

I am aware that many University of Maryland students are disappointed that the Back to School concert featuring Mac Miller, Casey Veggies, and The Come Up sold out within minutes of tickets going on sale at midnight on Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, we cannot offer more tickets or move the concert to a larger venue at this time.  Getting an artist to play to thousands of people in a venue like Cole Field House or Byrd Stadium is in the realm of SEE’s Concerts Director, not the Musical Arts Director, and I can assure you that SEE’s Concerts Director is actively working on a concert of this larger scale for later in the semester.

Many students are requesting a new venue, primarily Cole Field House, for the concert. Though I wish I could provide more students the opportunity to see Mac Miller, it is unfortunately impossible at this point to switch venues from the Grand Ballroom. The university and the artists agreed to and signed legally binding contracts weeks ago specifying the venue and the number of tickets to be sold. Part of the reason we chose to put Mac Miller in Stamp initially is that he plays venues not much larger than the Grand Ballroom. Without agreeing to pay a substantially higher performance fee, which SEE’s musical arts budget could not have offered, he likely would not have agreed to play a venue as big as Cole. Additionally, the cost of production and venue rental fees would be too high for the musical arts budget in Cole or even the next smallest venue, Ritchie Coliseum.

SEE did anticipate the student demand for this event. The research we conducted this past spring demonstrated a high interest in Mac Miller on campus. We had a discussion about the venue size but ultimately concluded that the Grand Ballroom was the best choice for this fall musical arts concert based on the size of venues Mac Miller will be performing at during his fall tour. I personally apologize that the event sold out so quickly and that so many students were unable to get tickets. At the same time, I hope that the students who were able to get tickets enjoy the unique experience that will be Mac Miller on September 21^st. I encourage UMD students to attend SEE’s upcoming fall programs, including our annual Homecoming Comedy Show next month.

I would like to thank all the students who have been respectful with their feedback so far. I am available to answer further questions at seemusicalarts@umd.edu or (301) 314-8498. Thank you.