Even if Wiz Khalifa preaches the black and yellow, this spring he’ll be singing “green and white.”
Thursday morning, Kent Smith, vice president for Student Affairs, tweeted the news that the rapper, who is nominated for two Grammys, would be headlining the Spring Convo Concert in May.
Student Senate sent out a survey to Ohio University students last fall, asking them to voice their opinions about the concert.
“Wiz Khalifa was in the top three artists students requested,” Student Senate President Kyle Triplett said. “The survey was based off of students’ preferred genre, date of the concert and who they wanted to see.”
After promising students in his campaign last spring that he would bring a $100,000 act for the show in The Convo, Triplett became the driving force behind securing a big performer, Smith said.
Scheduling an event such as this requires precise coordination between many organizations, including the Division of Student Affairs, Student Senate, University Program Council, Black Student Cultural Programming Board, and the Campus Involvement Center, said Brian Heilmeier, campus coordinator for the center.
“(Khalifa) is a bigger act than last year,” Triplett said. “He would have been harder to get if it were not for these organizations.”
Last year’s concert cost almost $400,000, Smith said. The university was able to break even, however, and this year, they have more money provided through the General Fund.
“There has been a 1 percent increase to our General Fund this year, and a portion of that went to our budget (for the concert),” Triplett said.
In addition to the student organizations and General Fund, the Campus Involvement Center, including the Performing Arts Series, will contribute a portion of its budget to the concert, Heilmeier said.
Although the university is still searching for an opening act, Smith said they are looking for another big name to add to the roster. Triplett added that they are not narrowing the search for an opener down by staying within the rap genre.
“It’s definitely a possibility that (the opening act) would be a different genre in order to attract as many people as possible,” Triplett said.
Ticket prices have not been announced yet, although Smith said they should be solidified by early February. Last year’s tickets cost between $25 and $55.
“We want to make sure it’s affordable for all students,” he said.
wh092010@ohiou.edu
