Students gathered in the Shapiro Campus Center atrium on Monday evening for a forum to discuss the possibility of Bob Dylan coming to perform at SpringFest. The forum was led by a panel of three WBRS board members and three other student leaders: Jesse Manning '13, the general manager of WBRS; Michael Zonenashvili '13, the music director of WBRS; Alex Pilger '13, the business director of WBRS; Rachel Nelson '13, chair of Student Events; SuWei Chi '13, director of concerts for Student Events; and Todd Kirkland '13, the Student Union president.

The panelists presented a Powerpoint presentation to the students detailing their plans for "Folkfest," a one-day concert dedicated to bringing folk musicians to perform at Brandeis. The day would be headlined by Dylan's performance, accompanied by other bands. The second day would be SpringFest "as you know it," explained the panelists, to the yearly performance by contemporary artists on Chapel's Field.

Folkfest, the panelists explained at the forum, would have two stages, although in a more recent interview with the Justice, Manning said that those planning the event had recently moved from the two-stage proposal to a one-stage proposal for logistical reasons. The panelists anticipated attendance of about 2,000 students and 4,300 off-campus patrons at such a concert, which would take place on Gordon Field near the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. Student attendance at the concert would be free, while off-campus patrons would be charged between $80 and $90 for tickets.

The panelists repeatedly expressed their belief that ticket sales to off-campus patrons would be able to cover most, if not all, of the cost of the event. To support this idea, they referenced the recent sale of tickets to a Bob Dylan concert at TD Garden in Boston on Nov. 18, which sold 14,000 tickets-each costing $100-within a day's time.

The panelists also acknowledged the potential benefits and drawbacks of Dylan's concert oncampus. Kirkland explained these benefits to the audience, which included a stronger image for the University and a demonstration that the University can handle large, high-profile events. Drawbacks, presented by Nelson, included questions about University staffing capabilities, the public relations risk to the University, the financial risk of failing to bring in revenue equal to the cost of the concert and the security risk of off-campus individuals attending the concert. The presentation also included a ballot of other musicians who could be brought to perform at Folkfest in addition to Bob Dylan for which students could vote; Nelson, in an email to the Justice, wrote that the panel had since received 93 ballots.

Students then had the opportunity to ask questions directly to the panelists to express theirconcerns or support for the idea.

One student asked whether the cost of bringing Dylan to campus was fiscally responsible, to which Manning responded that he believed the concert is related to the University's ideals of social justice and that "[f]olk music is the music of the people. Bob Dylan is the voice of the people."

In an interview with the Justice, Manning declined to give a specific cost for Bob Dylan's performance, although Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel suggested a cost of $300,000 in an interview with the Justice last week.

400 students had responded on Facebook that they would attend the forum, although closer to 100 or so actually showed up. Associate Deans of Student Life Jamele Adams and Maggie Balch, Director of Student Activities Stephanie Grimes and Concert Program Manager Shawna Kelley were present at the event, although none of them spoke.

In an email to the Justice, Nelson explained that "because of the weather and other events going on around campus," there was a lower turnout than expected among students and staff.

Nonetheless, Nelson expressed that "[i]t was great to see so many people there either in support or opposed to the idea."

Similarly, Manning said that he thought that the forum went "really well" and described responses that he has received since the event as "really encouraging." For now, Nelson wrote, "we will just wait for more information."

At the forum, students were encouraged to express either their support or their opposition to the proposal by contacting the panelists directly, either through email or with a Facebook message.