While Bacchanal’s April 21 spring concert has been hailed by many students as an improvement over those of previous years, the event’s small crowd and haphazard ticketing methods testify to disorganization and poor advertising on the part of its planners. Bacchanal should redouble its efforts to generate excitement and spirit among the student population through more ambitious and better publicized programming beyond the annual concert.

Many students hoped that the merger of Bacchanal and Columbia Concerts—the two major groups that facilitated campus concerts in past years—would succeed in bringing exciting musical acts to campus. This year’s spring concert was the new organization’s first attempt. They booked Grizzly Bear and The National, two indie-rock bands, hoping the event would appeal to a larger segment of the Columbia population than it has for the past two years. While tickets to the event sold out and several ticketless people were even turned away, the concert ultimately drew only a fraction of the crowd Roone Arledge Auditorium’s balcony and auditorium could accommodate—partly because tickets were sold by seat and not by space, even though the vast majority of the crowd ended up standing. Meanwhile, other students complained that they didn’t know about the concert at all or had never heard of the bands.

Bacchanal’s efforts are on the right track, but programming should serve to increase school spirit on campus each spring. Bacchanal cannot succeed without an organized, publicized event garnering the attention and attendance of more Columbia students. A successful concert requires well-known performers who will draw a multitude of students. Since such an act will entice a greater number of students and guests to attend, Bacchanal could defray the costs by charging money for tickets. Students, for their part, will willingly shell out 20 to 30 dollars to see an act they would otherwise have to pay a small fortune to see. Such is evident from the University of Pennsylvania’s Spring Fling, which regularly draws big-name performers—like Ludacris, Gym Class Heroes, and OK Go this year—and large crowds, despite the $25 ticket price. Bacchanal should also be more active in organizing and announcing their events. To gain the popularity they desire, the group must make sure students know about sponsored activities and better manage the ticketing process. Consolidating events into a single, packed weekend might increase attention to Bacchanal activities, and working with other student groups to orchestrate events beyond a single concert would increase the variety of entertainment offered. By designing a roster of well-publicized activities diverse enough to draw a majority of the population, Bacchanal would have the ability to bring Columbia students together as a community.

Increasing administrative scrutiny and enforcement of alcohol regulations have led to many of Bacchanal’s struggles over the past few years. Yet Bacchanal need not organize alcohol-related events to create the type of community present at many other universities. Instead, better advertised events that tap into the creativity of campus groups, in addition to a brand-name spring concert, would draw large numbers of students and create the school spirit Columbia so often lacks.