Jazz Fest should be more inclusive to regular students
While the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival has drawn people from all over the country to Moscow, it isn’t as inclusive to everyone on campus.
Claire Whitley
Unless they are music majors, University of Idaho students aren’t included in Jazz Fest much at all. After high school, it seems Jazz Fest doesn’t matter anymore.
To a significant degree, Jazz Fest is directed at high school students visiting campus. It has been turned into a recruitment tool in the pocket of UI administration. Even some workshops are formatted in such a way to “teach about college.” But these are not really about jazz. Some workshops are completely directed at high school students and are only created to show students what programs are available at UI. The jazz education seems second to recruitment.
For most students, there is no buzz on campus, which makes this important festival seem insignificant. They may notice there are a number of younger faces running around like hooligans, but they are more focused on the difficult parking situation it puts them in.
This pride and joy of UI doesn’t connect with or engage regular UI students — and that’s a problem. This could be because there is little to no advertisements on campus about workshops or Jazz Fest events. As of this year, there are no workshops directed at college students already on campus. If there were a few special workshops designed to teach the culture of jazz to UI students, there may be more hype around this event. Instead there are confused questions about an increase in the number of younger students on campus. The workshops could be advertised all over campus, instead of just the music building and Deakin Avenue.
The fact that there is not a discount for UI students also doesn’t help. UI students pay to come to school and for some reason can’t attend the famous Jazz Fest concerts without paying even more. The only discounts given to students were for Wednesday and Thursday. Tickets for Friday and Saturday are still full price, except for the outer seats where $10 is taken off the price.
The fact is Jazz Fest is a great opportunity for many people. College and high school students as well as community members all love the idea. Yet, college students are excluded from much of the Jazz Fest activities. Jazz Fest administration should increase advertising on campus. Of course, adding workshops directed at college students wouldn’t be bad either.
Instead of using Jazz Fest as a recruitment tool, administration should use it as a retainment tool. Jazz Fest should be a tool used to increase the culture on campus and the pride of UI students, instead of being something administrators use to further their enrollment agendas.
Claire Whitley can be reached at [email protected]