by Lauren DiTullio, News Staff
Huntington News: So what’s CUP’s purpose?
Eric Frankenberg: CUP brings all the major entertainment to campus, and we do everything from concerts to comedians to lectures to interactive events. It’s a really good way to get people who are interested in all different things together in one place.
HN: What sort of events are you responsible for?
EF: We do everything from Springfest [Northeastern’s yearly spring concert], to a “Halloweek,” which we’ve done in the past. Last year we had a choreographer in for that and he taught about 60 or 70 students the Thriller dance, so that was cool. We try to book comedians and artists that will appeal to a large segment of the Northeastern community, as well as events that involve everyone, arranged around a specific theme.
HN: Tell me about Springfest.
EF: Springfest is the event that everyone waits for all year. It’s a week of events, usually the first week of April. It’s a themed week. Last year was a play on the sort of 2012 apocalypse craze [NUPocalypse]. We come up with T-shirts for it and people are waiting in line for them; they’re always gone in a matter of a few minutes. [Springfest] includes everything from trivia-themed events, scavenger hunts, obstacle courses, and we’ve incorporated community service as well. And then, of course, it culminates with the big concert at the end.
HN: Who have you had play in the past?
EF: Last year it was Drake and 3OH!3. We’ve also in the past had Jimmy Eat World, Ludacris, and Nas . . . it’s a lot of big performers so we’re really proud of that.
HN: Any idea who you’ll have this year?
EF: We don’t. We don’t really start planing that for a couple more months, but we’re about to put a survey on myNEU and students can tell us what genre they would prefer, how many acts they want to see, and even a list on which they can select their preferences as to who they’d like to see. People will be able to share their ideas and brainstorm. We’ll narrow it down, but it’s more January or February that we start making moves.
HN: Has there always been that much student involvement in the decision?
EF: A lot of the times the input is from the students that come to our meeting, which is a large number, because a lot of students come and everyone wants to have a part in such a big event. We cater to over 10,000 students . . . we include them.
HN: What are you personally proud to say that CUP has accomplished?
EF: I’m personally really proud of the Super Cr3w event that we had [April 2, 2009], because it was kind of a low-budget event that appealed to a ton of students. Basically, they won America’s Best Dance Crew, so we knew people would be interested, and then a lot of NU dance groups had the opportunity to participate in that night as well. Also we’ve had a great track record booking up-and-coming talent. We had Daniel Tosh here right before he got his show and now he’s one of the biggest things on TV; we also got Zach Galifianakis right before he got huge with “The Hangover” so I have to say that I’m proud of that as well.
