I am writing in response to Chris Sabanty’s most recent column (“The CUP underfloweth,” Jan. 11), which regards the planning of Springfest and the selection of the bands. As a former member of CUP and former member of the Springfest committee, I feel the need to clarify certain comments made in the aforementioned column.

First and foremost, I want to make clear to Mr. Sabanty and other students that CUP is not spending the entire $250,000 allocated for this concert on artists alone. There are several costs incurred when putting together a concert of the magnitude of last year’s Fall Concert and Springfest.

Security, for example, is a major cost. Mr. Sabanty alluded to “anal security” at the previous concerts. The primary reason for that is to ensure the safety of the students. However, extensive security is also a demand of our own Department of Public Safety. Simply put, the administration does not sign off on the concert unless a certain amount of security is hired. This became especially important in the aftermath of the Super Bowl riots. Unfortunately, the administration is so skeptical about its own student body’s behavior that extra security is needed. We cannot afford any incidents that will end up burning any more bridges with our neighbors.

Mr. Sabanty states that “most established acts don’t want to play at Northeastern.” He claims that weather, anal security, and the quality of Matthews Arena are the reasons why. While Mr. Sabanty is right in claiming that many artists are not fond of playing at colleges in general, they will do it most of the time – if the money is right. Additionally, there are a number of outside factors that contribute to some artists not coming here. Have they played in Boston lately? Do they have shows scheduled around the area in the near future? I can go on listing many things that go into consideration, but space is limited here.

Another aspect of Mr. Sabanty’s article that stands out is the claim that students have no input regarding selection of the bands. That is not entirely true. If you are an active member of CUP and you participate in the Springfest and concerts committees, there is a significant amount of input. However, signing artists is not necessarily a science. We can put bids to any band we want, but it is then up to them to accept it. Also, if CUP were to consult the students any time a new bid was made, we would never sign anyone; by the time the decision was made, the artists would no longer be available. Imagine the frenzy around campus if, for example, CUP announced that a bid was made to the Dave Matthews Band. Most students would end up assuming the Dave Matthews Band would be coming to campus and would be very disappointed in case the bid fell through.

It is important to realize that last year’s concerts were the first time in Northeastern history that concerts of such magnitude were organized. I am not saying everything was perfect and CUP got everything right. However, the past two concerts were very successful, all things considered. I am confident Andy Sellars and his committee will improve upon last year’s concert, learning from the mistakes that were made.

– Felipe Basso is an alumnus from the class of 2005.