Rutgersfest 2011. I’m just going to start off by saying this isn’t the article I originally planned on writing. I’ll explain. It all started on a fairly-sunny-but-also-windy-therefore-not-too-warm Friday morning…
There was a certain energy in the air. It was like waking up to open your gifts on Christmas morning; except instead of t-shirts and video games it was more like beer and Pitbull. All of my friends were up at the crack of dawn, excited to start their day of partying it up on College Avenue, possibly (but probably not) make it to the concert, and then heading back to College Avenue to party it up again.
I was too busy to partake in these festivities, getting prepared to grab my press pass and actually attend the concert. I made my way to Yurcak (lol) Field and met up with a fellow Rutgers Reviewer, Marcin Wysocki, who was there to take pictures of the event. We got our passes and were advised not to walk to the band tent section, which was blocked off by security.
We were told that we could not get any interviews and that approaching the artist would make us “look bad”. Apparently, I was supposed to contact RUPA to set up an interview by December (I wasn’t told I’d have a press pass until March) and it was up to the artists to decide how many interviews they’d do.
Now let’s break this down real quick. Rutgers University spent roughly $95,000 on these performers. That’s a lot of money. So the question is this: Why would Rutgers spend almost a hundred grand to book these artists if the artists wont do interviews with the University’s publications?
After a failed attempt or two to sneak into the band tents, I decided I wouldn’t push things too far. Although I was extremely bummed that I wouldn’t get to interview anyone, I still could not wait to be up front reporting on the event.
And so, Marcin and I made our way to the space in between the crowd and the stage where the security guards do their thing. Dirty Mac, a Rutgers student/rapper, opened up the show and did a great job of warming up the crowd.
Shortly after Dirty Mac finished up, Yelawolf took the stage. I’m a fan of Yelawolf, so watching him so close up was quite an awesome experience. After the first three songs, I was told by Ms. RUPA Worker 1 that I had to stop taking pictures and couldn’t be in the security area anymore. This kind of sucked. And so, I did as Ms. RUPA Worker 1 asked. I then went around to the other side of the stage and saw a bunch of photographers still snapping away.
I figured, if they were still allowed to be in the security section, I wouldn’t get in trouble for being there with them. So I walked in by the other photographers, not to take pictures, but to enjoy the rest of Yelawolf’s set. I was quickly greeted by Ms. RUPA Worker 2 who told me I couldn’t take anymore pictures. I explained that I wasn’t taking pictures and kindly asked if I could just watch the rest of the performance.
“Don’t get smart with me,” Ms. RUPA Worker 2 responded, sounding very pissed off. Needless to say I was caught off guard.
“What? I just want to watch the show,” I replied, to which she again responded with an even more stern “Don’t get smart with me” and preceded to walk away angrily. Completely confused with what happened, I figured I could just stay and watch. The other photographers were still taking pictures, so I didn’t think I was causing much of a problem.
About two minutes later, Ms. RUPA Worker 2 came back with Ms. RUPA Worker 1 (the one who asked me to leave before). They told me and a few other photographers that we had to leave the area now. I did as I was asked and then received a lecture from Ms. RUPA Worker 1 about how she already had to talk to me three times and if I did anything wrong again I’d be kicked out. She also that I shouldn’t have even gotten a pass in the first place because I didn’t have a camera (yes, it’s true I was using my camera phone the whole time).
Let’s do another quick breakdown. The Rutgers Review was given two press passes for Rutgersfest. One was given to Marcin so that he could photograph the event. The other was given to me so that I could report on the event. And so I’ll ask yet another question: If I am not allowed to approach the artists and if I shouldn’t be allowed in the security section, what was the point of having a press pass?
Regardless, I was able to watch the first three songs of 3OH!3 and Pitbull from the security section and miraculously did not get into any sort of trouble. And although many students were complaining about the lack of good artists this year, the crowd seemed to thoroughly enjoy both acts. By the end of the concert, I realized that even with all of the problems I encountered, I still thoroughly enjoyed Rutgersfest 2011.
Oh yeah, and I should probably mention that later that night there were fights, riots, and four shootings in New Brunswick, concluding the University’s yearly tradition of Rutgersfest.
by Joe Zorzi
Photo by Joe Zorzi