Colgate University hosted its annual Springfest, updated with a few notable changes, from Friday, April 25 to Saturday, April 26. Hallmark events, such as Dancefest and the Springfest concert, returned to this year’s programming, and some entirely new ones were introduced by the Office of Student Involvement (OSI) and various student organizations.
On Friday, Spring & Sips, a new event hosted by the Colgate chapter of The Women’s Network (TWN), kicked off the weekend’s events. Held in Frank Dining Hall from 5 to 6 p.m., the event featured a DIY mocktail station inspired by the community-building practices of TWN’s national chapter. First-year Annika Watson, a member of TWN, said that Spring & Sips offered a moment of calm apart from the frenzy of the weekend.
“The goal of this event is essentially community building. We wanted to give people a chance to wind down and connect amidst all the craziness of the weekend, to relax and chat for a few minutes and to make a yummy drink in the process,” Watson said.
On Friday evening, beginning at 6 p.m., the Dancefest Committee hosted Dancefest in the Colgate Memorial Chapel, featuring acts choreographed and performed by campus dance groups such as Colgate Dance Initiative, FUSE Dance Team and Colgate Ballet Company. Springfest’s first night concluded with a drag show by performer Blossom Dior hosted in Edge Cafe by Lambda, a “Jam Sesh” in the academic quad hosted by the Office of the Chaplains and a magic and comedy show in Donovan’s Pub.
On Saturday, OSI held the Springfest Carnival, one of the major additions to this year’s scheduled events. From noon until 3 p.m., rides, games and food trucks — from which students could redeem a free meal using tokens handed out to attendees in Donovan’s Pub — were set up on Whitnall Field and Lally Lane.
Another major change to Saturday’s Springfest events was the relocation of the Springfest Concert, headlined this year by performer Jay Sean, from the Sanford Field House to the parking lot of the Class of 1965 Arena. The concert also faced alterations earlier in the year when it was announced that the original headlining act, indie-pop band COIN, had disbanded and had to be subsequently replaced.
Director of OSI Paul Habernig oversaw the planning of Springfest and said that any changes to this year’s offerings were designed in tandem with students and student groups, as were a number of new events hosted by student organizations.
“There are a ton of logistics to a weekend like Springfest. The planning started in November with various deadlines and timelines. One thing led into the next and many of the logistics involve stakeholders throughout the campus. It truly is a campus-wide effort,” Habernig said.
The choice to move the Springfest concert outdoors, he said, was also made because of the location of the parking lot and its available amenities.
At the concert, singer-songwriter and Colgate alumna Lisa Heller ’18 served as the opening act for Jay Sean, who performed at 9 p.m. The headlining performance included hits such as “Down,” “Ride It” and “Do You Remember,” and segments of songs by artists such as Drake, Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj. Even in a new location, many attendees, including first-year Joshua Jones, felt that Jay Sean’s show was the highlight of Springfest.
“The crowd had a super good energy throughout the night, and Jay Sean stayed engaging during the entire performance,” Jones said.
After the concert, the student-led organization Queer and Trans People of Color (QTPOC) hosted Area102!, an alien-themed party, at Pink Haus, located at 102 Broad St. The event was open to all students.
During Springfest planning, there was some discussion between the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Advising (OFSA) and Greek life organizations about opening up social events to all members of campus. OFSA Director Morgan Snow said that she had communicated with chapter leaders about hosting and safety earlier in the semester.
This OFSA initiative raised some liability and safety concerns among chapter leaders, however, though Snow said that the proper risk management measures are in place to solve such issues.
“As an office, I work with chapter and student organization leaders year round to develop and implement risk management plans to host events while ensuring the safety of all participants as well as navigate our comprehensive policies. Every time an organization social hosts, they are encouraged to contact Campus Safety in the event that an issue arises. The Campus Safety team additionally does multiple walk-throughs of registered events to support risk mitigation,” Snow said. “We are committed to working with our chapters and their headquarters to host inclusive events that are safe, well managed and in compliance with University policies and [chapter] headquarters’ policies.”
Despite Snow and OFSA’s efforts, the open parties never came to fruition. While events were intended to be open throughout the weekend, Snow said that the University received notice from the insurance company contracted by a number of fraternity chapters that open events would violate the fraternities’ insurance policies.
According to Snow, chapter leaders have been invited to provide Springfest feedback.
For some student attendees, Springfest was an opportunity to both wind down and get involved before the pressure of the end of the Spring academic semester begins. Watson, both a host and participant during Springfest, said that she looked forward to the chance to make the most of the end of the semester.
“The thing about Springfest I was most looking forward to was the ability to spend time with my friends and have as much fun as we can before exam stress really takes over our days. There’s not much time left in the semester, so I’m really grateful for this super fun weekend, Watson said.
