Many were left wondering over the last few weeks about the signs that seemed to be everywhere on campus. The signs elusively displayed only the words SCOPE, Dosh and a date and location, if that. What is SCOPE? Who is in it? Why have I not heard of it before? Well hopefully this article can answer those questions.

SCOPE stands for the Student Committee on Providing Entertainment. They are SGA recognized and have been around for over three years. This year SCOPE is under the leadership of sophomore Brendan O’Connor, who is supported and advised by last year’s president, senior Bill Gabler. O’Connor suggests that the club unofficially has close to 25 to 30 members. But, this still does not answer the question: what is SCOPE’s role on campus?

According to O’Connor, SCOPE’s purpose and mission on campus is to “provide music for students that they would not normally hear.” The club brings bands from all different genres to the Colgate campus and hosts them in different venues in the hope that students will check out their music and discover a band they might not have otherwise heard. O’Connor also insists that they really do bring bands from all different genres, so there is something for everyone. During this semester alone, the genres include country/folk, Indie pop, electric jazz and an Afro-beat hip hop show.

SCOPE has hosted two shows this semester and has another planned for the coming weekend. The first show was hosted in the WRCU townhouse and included two features. The first was Andrew Bryant, and the other was The Gunshy. They are both acoustic acts with a country/folk feel. Over 80 people turned out to listen.

Interestingly, the bands were not new to the Colgate music scene. The Gunshy, according to O’Connor, was back for its fourth or fifth year, and Andrew Bryant was returning for his second show on campus.

This show was an example of SCOPE’s close relationship with WRCU. A number of SCOPE’s members are also very involved in WRCU, unsurprising since both organizations revolve around music and have members interested in the up and coming music scene.

The second show that SCOPE put together took place this past weekend on Friday, October 27. Dosh performed at the Barge, and there was an amazingly huge turnout of “upwards of 180 people,” according to O’Connor. Dosh is a one-person band, so he puts together his music by building tracks as he plays. He opened up with drums, then built on that with the keyboard, and continued adding on to that track with other instruments. On some songs though, Dosh was backed up by his band, Fat Kid Wednesdays. Together the two put on an incredible show. On top of that, Dosh was opened by the student Blues band known as The Boyajin Trio. Dosh is becoming a huge name in the music industry; the Barge was the smallest venue he has played in quite some time.

But if you missed SCOPE’s first two shows, do not fear, because this Saturday, November 4, SCOPE along with Democracy Matters, Bacchus and the Class Council of 2010 will be bringing you The Elected live in the O’Connor Campus Center (the Coop). The show will start at 8 PM, and will take place in the Coop TV room. “No one will be working in the Coop on a Saturday night, so it will be a great place for a show,” says O’Connor. And since the target audience is the Class of 2010, it is an even more perfect location “because the Coop will be so convenient for the freshmen class.”

The concert is a creative idea for the weekend before the November 7 elections. The band name echoes the attitude and purpose of the show with its timing. As the band is playing, Democracy Matters will have tables set up in the fireplace section of the Coop disseminating information on the elections and voting. There will also be fun “mock-tails” available.

After The Elected, SCOPE has another show planned this semester in coordination with the Colgate Jewish Union and We Funk. They will be bringing Remedy Ross to the Palace on November 17. This should be a great event. Remedy Ross is a former member of the Wu Tang Clan. According to O’Connor, Remedy Ross is a Jewish rapper who raps about politics, especially in support of Israel.

The last show SCOPE is helping plan this semester with a number of academic departments is the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars. The Afro-beat jam band will be held at the Palace on December 1.

SCOPE is made up of a great group of people who are interested in music, and want to help bring different bands to campus. But according to O’Connor they “are a very open institution and always looking for more people. The more input we can get about bands to bring to campus the better.”

SCOPE meetings take place every Monday at 6 p.m. in the Coop Conference Room. The club has “been made up of the same group of students for a while, but the club is just starting to come out of its shell,” O’Connor said. With the plastering of advertisements and posters all around campus for their upcoming and past shows, SCOPE is making a name for themselves amongst students and faculty.

When asked how the club feels about the past lack of name recognition on campus, O’Connor responded that he is “not too concerned about the name, but are concerned with bringing bands to campus. SCOPE does continue to stay true to its original goal of bringing music to campus that students would not normally hear.” SCOPE tries to bring bands that are “on the cusp of world fame,” such as the band this weekend, The Elected, who are “blowing up,” according to O’Connor.

This year and in the past, being a member of SCOPE meant mainly suggesting bands to bring to campus and then lots of work in promoting and advertising the upcoming shows. They use the ever-popular Facebook events feature, posters, fliers and Coop tables where they play the band’s music and also will add the bands’ songs onto WRCU rotation.

Next year O’Connor and Gabler hope to change the structure of SCOPE so it is less dependent on one or two leaders. It will do this by breaking SCOPE’s members into teams, which will each organize their own shows, and O’Connor and Gabler will be around to guide and facilitate the process. SCOPE is growing and becoming a great asset to the Colgate campus.

If you have not yet made it to one of their shows, make sure to check out one of their upcoming events and see for yourself the great atmosphere and music that SCOPE brings to our campus.