The University of Idaho Vandal Entertainment Board provides different entertainment options for students each year.
Concert chair Hagen Hunsaker said the organization has a board of five people who manage concerts, day and late night programmings, lecture arts and promotions.
“We try to put on the most variety of options we can possibly do. Our performing and lecture arts chair does anything from comedians to hypnotists,” Hunsaker said. “Late night does anything from the Bob Ross Paint Night to roller rink.”
Vandal Entertainment stages various events each month. Hunsaker said the quality of said events is important for students.
Hagan Hunsaker | Courtesy
“I think the four to five events we have a month are pretty adequate and have the best quality — we try to just do our best,” Hunsaker said. “We try to bring in the best quality entertainment events to the students at the university.”
UI junior Naomi Williams said she doesn’t think there are enough events because students want entertainment options off campus that aren’t affiliated with the university.
“I love Vandal Entertainment but they can only do so much and I know Hagen is planning bigger things,” Williams said. “I think people wants things (entertainment options) that are outside the university.”
Hunsaker said Vandal Entertainment puts on just the right number of events for students, providing high quality options.
“I think the students question why we don’t have more a month, but would you rather have better acts (or a greater) amount of things?” Hunsaker said.
Shawn O’Neal, UI director of student involvement, said Vandal Entertainment has an annual budget of roughly $200,000 to spend on entertainment options.
Hunsaker said this money comes from student fees, which allows Vandal Entertainment to make events free for students.
“Everything we do is free, and there’s kind of a push back towards that. There are people who want to put some sort of charge on it because then we could bring in bigger acts,” O’Neal said. “For bigger shows, if you charged students ahead, would they pay $5 to get in? I don’t know. We have a budget. If you charge students, you risk pushing them out the door, where right now our priority is getting students in the door.”
He said the bigger events have had a huge attendance rate.
“We’ve had some events that have been absolute home runs. … But then we’ll have times where we bring in something else that we think is really cool and unique and it gets ignored,” O’Neal said, “Then our question is, ‘Was this a marketing thing?’”
Shawn O’Neal | Courtesy
Hunsaker said Vandal Entertainment has surveys, with staff trying their best to cater to students’ needs.
“We try to have diverse options such as the drag show, and we are looking into bringing bigger acts that you don’t get in the Palouse,” Hunsaker said. “I feel like our students want something bigger and better or always want bigger and better, even if we can’t do it.”
O’Neal said there is some sort of disconnect that may explain why some events turn out better than others. He said maybe students say they want some things, but don’t actually go out and do them.
“People are so demanding of your time at this point in your life, they want so much of your time and you are investing so much in that time being yours,” O Neal said. “You’re studying, doing the things you need to do, your social relationships, that maybe you just want some downtime and sit in your room on your phone for a while. And I can absolutely understand that.”
He said Vandal Entertainment is a critical part of the college experience for students and there are proven benefits to attending these events.
“All the data shows that students who engage in these activities engage more in their college experience and in the classroom,” O’Neal said. “We aren’t just putting on concerts — everything we do is designed to help UI students have a better overall experience.”
Lindsay Trombly can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @lindsay_trombly