Phish will not visit U.

The alternative band Phish will not come to campus next semester. That was the only thing the Social Planning and Events Committee and the Junior Class Board could agree on at a meeting this week. According to SPEC and College senior Lissette Monge, the Junior Class did not even attempt to contact the band to see if it was available for a concert this spring until after the Office of Student Life prohibited them from planning a concert without SPEC's approval. "This was unrealistic –– the biggest thing is that Phish will not be coming," Monge said. "They are not going to be in America –– they're touring somewhere in Europe." She added that the reason for Phish not coming to campus has no bearing on SPEC's intentions or actions, despite what Junior Class Board members may say. "We were not even consulted about it," Monge said. Junior Class member Jon Slotkin, a College student, said that although he is the Class Boards' contact for the band, he is unable to confirm that the band is touring in Europe. Monge said the Junior Class's method of trying to plan a concert was flawed. She said the Board should have obtained all the necessary information before publically disclosing the name of the band. "There was a lot of misinformation on behalf of the Class Boards," Monge said. "They should have done that before they got students all excited. "That's not the way we do things ––not SPEC Concerts [Committee]," she added. "We won't release the name of the bands for that reason." Slotkin said he hopes the Junior Class will still pursue the plan to bring Phish to campus in the future if not next semester. But because OSL recognizes SPEC as the body responsible for concert planning, it will not assist the Class Boards in this endeavor. Therefore, a co-sponsorship would be necessary for the Junior Class to be officially involved in bringing bands to campus. "The Class Boards put effort into this band and we want to pursue the possibility," Slotkin said."We want to continue to work with SPEC, but they think co-sponsorship is irrelevant at this point [and are] prematurely shutting down the operation." But Monge said SPEC is not ruling out the possibility of a future co-sponsorship. It plans to wait until next semester to discuss the issue further. Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson and Wharton junior Dan Debicella said the problem is a lack of communication between the two groups. He said both SPEC and the class boards will meet with the UA in the spring to work out "theoretical" differences and clarify both groups' roles at the University.