“I don’t remember Serendipity last year, and this year, I hope it’s the same,” was a common response of students when asked about Serendipity; the notorious weekend at Guilford where public safety seems to turn a blind eye to underage drinking. Blurry images of a thousand kids across campus enjoying live music, warm weather, and cheap beer spring to mind. Rumors have been trickling through campus as excitement mounts, so I took the liberty of finding out a little bit about what we can really expect for Serendipity 2008. Serendipity is confirmed for April 4th and 5th. Laura Milot, head of Campus Activities Board, is aiming for a “Woodstock feel” with several music artists playing on a stage set up on the lawn down by the lake on Friday and Saturday night. Friday will be more of a ‘rock’ oriented night, and the winner of the previous week’s battle of the bands competition will perform, and on Saturday, the music will be more hip-hop and rap based.
“I’ve already booked about two or three artists that are definitely coming,” Milot said. “Then we have three or four more that we’re talking to. We also have some local artists. There’s not going to be anyone outstandingly famous. We’re not going to have Britney Spears or Fergie.”
Although Milot could not yet disclose who will be performing, she did say that there will not be one major headline for the weekend. Unfortunately, this means that the rumors of M.I.A coming are false.
“M.I.A. would have been awesome to bring, but she’s really expensive and backstage she wants $5,000 dollars worth of riders,” said Milot. “She wants food, she wants alcohol, she wants cigarettes, and all kinds of weird things. If we bought M.I.A., the rest of serendipity would suffer because of it, because she would be so expensive.”
Last year, rapper Common played at Serendipity and priced at over $30,000 he drained most of the budget. From what I understand, many students did not even make it down to the stage to see him perform. I have to say, had I been here last year, I would most likely have been one of the many missing out, simply because tickets cost 10 dollars and rap is not my thing.
Tickets for this year’s concerts will be free for Guilford students and two for friends. Additional friends will only have to bring in a canned good for donation to be allowed admission. I think this is an excellent strategy to get people to go to the concerts, and thus accomplish the goal of Serendipity: to build community.
“We’re trying to bring back what Serendipity is all about. We want lots of music positive energy and community, and a weekend where you can just relax and hang out with your friends and really enjoy yourself in the nice weather, with music and food and special things you don’t usually have.”
This year, an $18,000 cut in the Serendipity budget by Senate has made it a little more challenging for the coordinators to please the masses.
“The most difficult part is trying to cater to everyone at Guilford because we have a diverse group here,” Milot said. “We wanna make sure that we get something that hip-hop fans would like, and people that like techno, and people that like straight up rock. And people that wanna hear some bluegrass, or people that wanna hear some jazz music. Also, we’re making sure that the people we bring are going to be fun. There are lots of people out there who are just not fun in concert. We want to make sure that the performances are going to be lively and engaging and fun for everyone.”
Hearing this was reassuring to me, as I would rather hear seven diverse bands I have never heard of play, than one famous artist that will only play one or two sets and draw a limited and specific crowd.
Girl Talk has been rumored to be performing, which I think would be a wise choice, as he is a versatile performer with widespread appeal to both rock and rap fans. RjD2, who played at Guilford in November, is a somewhat similar artist who drew a huge crowd. There have also been rumors about punk band Against Me! performing.
“I think they would put on a great show. At the same time I have mixed feelings since they’re big sellouts now,” said conflicted Against Me! fan and first-year Austin Shriner.
I’m not necessarily a fan of mainstream punk. But I do know that in the past I’ve experienced even mediocre punk bands putting on high energy shows that were way more fun than seeing some of my favorite bands live, i.e. The Shins, the New Pornographers, The Pixies, and Sonic Youth (though I think it may have just been an off-night for the latter).
I’ve had people tell me that Serendipity is the best weekend of the entire year by far, and I’ve had others tell me it’s drastically over rated. I think too much of whether Serendipity will be fun or not relies on the artist that CAB gets, when it should rely on the participation of the students. If there is a great turnout to the concerts and a lively crowd, it won’t matter whether The Who or Guilford Middle School’s Orchestra are performing; we’re still all going to have an amazing time.
Although Milot admits that the next few weeks are going to be stressful, as the preparations for Serendipity are far from complete, it seems like she and the rest of CAB are dedicated to making this year’s Serendipity one to remember. Or forget. Whichever one sounds more appealing to you. Personally, despite the allure of blacking out on a weekend that the school spent upwards of $50,000 on, I would like to remember the fun I had, especially if the music is good.
Public Safety, all the R.A.s, and Campus Life will be patrolling on campus during Serendipity to make sure that students are being safe and as discreet as possible in their inevitable drinking escapades. Dean for Campus Life Aaron Fetrow has confirmed that the administration will not be quite as lax on underage drinking as they have in the past, but undoubtedly, students will not let this fact get in the way of having an awesome weekend.