Regardless of one's opinion of the bands chosen by the Student Planning and Events Committee for Spring Fling over the last few years, it is likely that most students do not know how those artists are chosen. The process of deciding who will play at Penn's biggest party of the year is a mystery to the vast majority of the student body.
Currently, that process is a highly insular and secretive one -- discussions are held behind closed doors, involving a very small portion of the student body. And other than chance meetings on the Walk or discussions with close friends, the leaders of this group receive no outside input, as there is no formal mechanism for students from outside of SPEC to voice their opinions.
A certain level of secrecy is, of course, necessary -- the entire student body cannot be involved in negotiations with promoters -- and SPEC will inevitably be unable to make everyone happy or lure to Hill Field some of the big-name acts that students might like to see.
Still, in order to avoid the "mixed reviews" that have become commonplace when talking about the year's Fling band, SPEC would do well to make the selection a little less mysterious and a little more democratic.
SPEC Concerts should consider what it can do to open the process up to the general student population. Hold open forums to gauge student interest in possible acts and to brainstorm others. Set up an e-mail account for student suggestions and promote it. Circulate a short list of acts for students to vote or comment on.
In short, SPEC should do whatever it can to let students know that it cares about what they want, and take what information it does gets into account in its decision-making process.
Even if some students are unhappy with the final decision, at least their voices will have been heard.
