To the Editor:
The excitement was intense, the weed was immense. That sums up the latest Programming Board concert. Almost everyone was "hyped" for what might have been the most enjoyable concert in our four years. Our reaction to the concert is neither based on the quality of the music, nor the noisy band that consumed almost an hour as an opening act. Our criticism centers on the nauseating fog of weed that pervaded the floor of Leede Arena last night.
A few minutes before Busta Rhymes appeared on stage, his DJ proudly announced to all present "... just all y'all being here is supporting the FlipMode Squad." Yes, indeed our $15 tickets surely did support the group. How would we have known that our fee would support a drug-intensive concert.
"You guys are allowed to smoke weed at school?" and the overwhelming majority of the crowd said NO! "I don't think the police would let you smoke weed up in here" and then we thought he would say some words to discourage the pot-heads in the crowd. To our great surprise Mr. Busta Rhymes declared "Well I don't give a fuck, smoke all the weed you want!" How could we stand there and further support a group which apparently advocated smoking weed? Busta may have gotten away with our $15 but it was up to us not to allow him to advocate behavior that is detrimental to our physical health. We promptly made our way through the mob and walked out on Busta Rhymes and out of Leede Arena.
Would it not be unreasonable to assume that Dartmouth should take all necessary action to assure drug-free concerts? Also is it unreasonable to assume that a performer to whom we pay money should not condone illegal activities? In our final term we pose these questions to the Dartmouth community. We hope that the Programming Board takes leadership in administering their concerts in the future. We also want to keep the good name of the College as being a drug-free environment, where students make wise decisions pertaining to illegal drugs. We would like to see the reputation of our College protected and leave here as proud Alumni.
