Beauty in simplicity: Homecoming fee would offer a simple solution to widespread dismay

At a time when student fees seem to be administrators’ quick fix of choice, the newly proposed Homecoming fee offers a refreshing example of what fees are supposed to be — specific, merited and beneficial to the student body as a whole.

The beauty of this fee is its simplicity. Students will know exactly where their fee dollars are going — the Homecoming concert.

And if this concert draws criticism, as it did this year with The New Pornographers, the Homecoming committee that would accompany the fee would be directly accountable.

There are certainly ways in which CUAB could improve its operations, but the fact remains that this board is not the “Homecoming Activities Board.” It has responsibilities beside this concert and must devote its funds accordingly. This fee gives students the chance to put their money where their mouth is.

Under the new plan, a new committee would be created to manage the Homecoming fee, eliminating the inefficiencies of the current structure and allowing for more student input.

Ideally, if the fee is high enough, it would enable UNC to bring the kind of big-name artists necessary to appeal to a wide cross-section of students and sell lots of tickets.

In order for any of this to happen, however, the fee must be approved. This means students should take the surveys CUAB will be sending out over Thanksgiving break, which will ask students questions about how much they’d be willing to pay for the fee.

Equally important is a second survey, which will gather information about the kinds of music students want to hear.

It may seem unfair that not every student would attend a concert that they would all help subsidize. But all students will have the option of going to the concert, which is more than can be said about their utilization of the services provided by other fees like child care.

The demand for the actual concert and the particular artist chosen for a given year will be reflected in that year’s ticket sales.

Even with a fee, charging for tickets is still a necessity. Ticket revenue covers the cost of putting on the show, whereas the cost of bringing the artist is paid up front — which is where the Homecoming fee would come in. Students’ tickets would remain markedly less expensive than prices requested at private venues.

It is rarely possible to book bands with more than niche appeal under the current funding structure. A modest fee would provide the necessary nudge into a new echelon of popularity. This can mean the difference between a flop and a sold-out performance.

It’s true that there will never be a concert that appeals to every single member of UNC’s large, diverse student body. But there is a happy medium to be found in artists who may not be anyone’s absolute favorite but are popular enough to sell out Carmichael Arena. Passion Pit was an excellent example of this, but most bands with such a broad fan base come with a heftier price tag.

If students want a good Homecoming show, they must be willing to pay for one. This is an opportunity to enact a relatively simple solution to a problem that has proven important to a large portion of students. We should all do our part to make it happen.