Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this editorial incorrectly stated that CUAB received $75 per student, per semester from student fees. The story has been updated with the corrected number. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for this error.
This year, we have been relatively silent about our thoughts on the activities of the Carolina Union Activities Board. We think, so far, they’ve been doing a pretty good job. They’ve shown a really good array of movies in the Union this year, and they’ve brought some pretty cool speakers to campus. And with all the political mayhem this year, we’ve had a lot of other big issues to write about. But CUAB, don’t think we’ve forgotten about you.
We would first like to state that we are glad CUAB was able to book comedians DeRay Davis and Chris Redd for a homecoming show last semester. We have written in the past about the need for CUAB to bring comedy to campus, and we are happy to see this type of entertainment organized, yet we would love to see more. Until 2015, CUAB put on an annual comedy festival, replete with stand-up shows, workshops and panels, but that tradition seems to have faded away. John Oliver, Colin Jost and alum Lewis Black have all performed at UNC, but we have not seen that high caliber of comedy come to campus in a few years. We are aware that CUAB cited waning student interest as the cause of canceling the festival, but we’re very interested. We would love to see CUAB bring it back.
Further, The Daily Tar Heel reported back in September that CUAB nixed the homecoming concert in favor of a homecoming comedy show “in order to have better budget for Jubilee.” But as of the publication of this article, no Jubilee show has been announced.
We implore CUAB to consider the unfavorable reaction to last year’s Jubilee concert when making decisions about this year’s pick. Since CUAB has been saving up for this year’s concert, we expect something that will appeal to most students. As we know, a survey judging student opinion was sent out in the fall, so CUAB should have a pretty good sense of what students want. And, if they do, they should absolutely adhere to what the students want.
CUAB should consider the concerts from our peer institutions. N.C. State had T.I. perform for its homecoming concert. And the University of Florida is hosting Lil Wayne in April for its equivalent of Jubilee. We are not saying that we would particularly advocate for having T.I. or Lil Wayne come to campus, but we believe they are both better and more widely appealing artists than Chase Rice.
We would also like to remind CUAB that the fund it's entrusted with comes from student fees. Each student pays roughly $6.50 a semester for the operation of the CUAB. Thus, it is really important that CUAB picks a Jubilee headliner that most students will really enjoy. We would love to see someone who appeals to a majority of the UNC population, especially since we forwent a homecoming concert to make space for Jubilee.
We expect CUAB to put on a great show.
