The Springfest concert has been canceled and it’s all your fault.

You were irresponsible, you ruined it for everyone and that’s why “they” are doing it.

At least that’s what “they” want you to believe.

President Richard Freeland, in conjunction with Vice President for Student Affairs Ed Klotzbier, the advice of Northeastern Public Safety and a number of other influential administrators, have decided the student body cannot handle a concert “at this time” because “the whole world is watching.”

Talk about dramatic. Has President Freeland even heard of Ludacris? The hip-hop bias undertone of this cancellation is disturbing. Raise your hand if you think a Simon and Garfunkel show would have been canceled. We bet Freeland would have been in the front row toe-tapping to that show, but not this one, because think of how many dangerous people attend hip-hop shows.

President Richard Freeland is right, the cancellation of Ludacris’ performance is not “just a concert.” His decision to “postpone” the Springfest concert to a later date in the fall, signified the lack of student voice that was at the bargaining table.

This is not to say students were not present, in fact, they were in full force. Instead, the one person who vowed to be “the” student advocate looked away, not because he did not believe in the students, but because he was too busy fulfilling another role.

Klotzbier has been wearing two hats in the aftermath of the Super Bowl riots, that of student affairs as well as his native university relations, a.k.a. damage control. But somewhere between blaming the riots on “knuckleheads” and focusing on how the university would be cast in the national spotlight, otherwise referred to as the media, Klotzbier lost touch with what he promised to do.

Klotzbier, who said he would carry the students on his back, did not. Instead, when student leaders sat down with President Freeland to discuss the status of the concert with other administrators, Klotzbier sat silently. Not because he does not care about the students and this now non-existent concert, but because he was there representing the university’s image, not the students.

Speaking of the students, Freeland calls for help from the student leaders. We’re not so sure that many of the student leaders will join him on his quest. By “postponing” this concert, Freeland has stuck the Council for University Programming and the Student Government Association in a very tight spot. After raising the student fee to $100, CUP made good on their promise to bring a well-known name to campus. Despite their objections, the concert was canceled anyhow. Good luck rebuilding those burnt bridges.

The bottom line is, this was a decision made to appease all the wrong people. The university turned its back on the students in order to protect its image (read: keep “improving the quality of the school” so they can continue to justify raises in tuition). At the end of the day, we all know who will have to pay for the actions “of a few” administrators. It’s who pays for everything around here, the students.