Student Programming Council making preparations for Uproar

Victoria Abella/Staff Writer

No need to travel to California, FIU’s own premiere music festival Uproar is right around the corner.

“Mine” singer Bazzi will be headlining Uproar, along with Domino Saints and some featured local artists. The event, run by the Student Programming Council, selects artists by seeing what the students want.

“We try to incorporate student opinion the most because we want to make sure that the students’ voices are heard,” said SPC President Isabella Ojeda.

To decide this year’s lineup, SPC conducted Spotify research to see how many FIU students are fans of an artist. Bazzi, an active and up and coming artist with a huge audience in Miami, was one of the top choices, according to Ojeda. Local acts, some of which are FIU students, are also included in the lineup such as Cesar Santalo, Jekasole and Savanna Cristina.

Jekasole, a hip-hop Christian artist performing at the event, remembers attending Uproar last and dreaming to be on stage. Now, she’s ready to leave a mark during this last semester before she graduates.

“[I most look forward to] having a good time and just being able to share what I love to do with the FIU student body, and then most importantly with my friends and hopefully make some new fans,” said Jekasole.

Cristina said that concertgoers can expect a “lively performance, lots of excitement.”

Ojeda said SPC also used polls and social media research when considering student input and preferences.

“That’s how we selected a theme for this year… We surprisingly found that a lot of students on the poll like indie music so that’s kind of the focus for this concert and how we branded it as,” said Ojeda.

Regarding inspiration for the aesthetic and theme, Ojeda said SPC wanted Uproar to be “more Coachella inspired.” With that came the sunset color scheme – purple, light orange and coral – that appears in the marketing content, stickers and giveaways for the event.

“It was a lot of research into Coachella and different events they hold and see how we can adapt and incorporate those things on campus,” said Ojeda.

At the event, SPC will have various events and areas for students, such as a refresh relax station and a hair braiding station. Exclusive tote bags and decorative patches and bandanas will also be available, according to Ojeda.

Collaborating that day, different sponsors such as Hard Rock and FIU organizations will be tabling and handling Activation Stations, or activity stations, with giveaways all around.

“A lot of companies are really gracious and they come out and want to support with different activation stations”, said Ojeda.

Additionally, SPC hosts a spirit week leading up to Uproar. A Build-A-Bear themed workshop at both campuses, a pool party and a movie night are just a few free events surrounding Uproar, which will also feature giveaways.

Ojeda is no stranger to organizing Uproar. Before she was president of SPC, she was the organization’s vice president of outreach last year.

“It’s a lot more managing and administration, but we have a really solid e-board team that help me with everything. We do everything together and help each other out in any way,” said Ojeda.

The team consists of Vice President of Administration Jenna Mustafa, who works with the production side of the concert such as the stage look and line up, Vice President of Programming Yazmin Jimenez, who coordinates the activation stations and other events leading up to Uproar, and Vice President of Finance Rosario Mayta.

On the day of the event, Ojeda’s biggest tip is to arrive at Uproar before 5 p.m. and take advantage of the food, giveaways and prime spots for the performances.

“We’re just really excited. It’s gonna be a good time for all students to come out and just have a really fun time with friends,” said Ojeda.

Uproar takes place on Feb. 15 at the FIU MMC Soccer Field, with gates opening at 5 p.m. FIU students enter free by bringing their One Card to the gate, while tickets for non-FIU students are available for purchase online for $20. You can find SPC and stay updated on Uproar and more events on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat at @FIUSPC.

Featured photo courtesy of FIU Flickr.

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