Katy Perry, Akon and Vampire Weekend — these are some of the names included on this year’s University Union’s Block Party 2011 survey.

In one week, the survey received around 2,000 responses, said UU President Andrew Beyda. This is the largest response received in one week since the survey began online three years ago, he said.

‘To see that amount of responses to this year’s survey, within just one week, is a great sign that SU students really do care about UU’s events,’ Beyda said.

Block Party is one of the largest student events at the university. Through OrgSync, a Web management application for colleges, SU students can fill out questions regarding which artists from various genres they’d like to see live at the end of the year concert. UU’s executive board predetermines acts included on the list. UU is SU’s biggest student organization.

UU has an annual budget of $500,000, Beyda said. But the UU survey also lets students suggest five headliner performances not on the list that they’d like to see at Block Party, regardless of how much it would cost to bring the performances to SU. Students can also suggest five smaller acts.

Beyda said having the survey online has made the process easier, and UU can process the results more quickly. This is a change from previous years when students were invited to fill out paper forms, in addition to online ones.

‘For UU’s first survey, we simply posed an open-ended question in which we asked students to list the artists they would like to see perform on campus,’ Beyda said. ‘We found that, in many cases, students were requesting artists that were simply way above the budget.’

Now the survey asks students to choose from a pre-made list, as well as answer an open-ended question. Keeping the open-ended question allows UU to give Student Association, which provides funding for UU’s events, data on what artists students would ideally want, Beyda said.

Julia Kipnis, a freshman in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, said she thought the survey could be easier if it was all on one page.

‘It’s a good idea, but the way it’s set up is stupid,’ she said. ‘It’s really redundant and asks the same questions over and over again.’

Kipnis already filled out the survey and said she thinks B.o.B, who sang ‘Nothin’ on You,’ featuring Bruno Mars, is the best option listed.

‘He’s fun, and he’s on the radio,’ she said.

Amiya Quidley, a sophomore in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, said she was unaware of the survey until her friends started talking about it.

‘They should have done a better job of getting it out there,’ she said.

Quidley, who attended Block Party last year when Drake and N.E.R.D. performed, said she had fun and plans to go again this year.

 ‘I heard Nicki Minaj is on the list,’ Quidley said. ‘I really like her music.’

mjberner@syr.edu

Published on October 19, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Maddy: mjberner@syr.edu