The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/slope-day/)
The forum, run by Selections Director Thomas Marin and the rest of the Executive Programming Board, presented attendees with 25 potential artists, organized into three categories: opening acts, co-headliners, and headliners.
“[The initiative] gets people in the mindset of eating, hydrating and taking care of their body on Slope Day,” Gangidi and Petrucci said. “The distribution of breakfast is good in that it will allow students the opportunity to eat a full breakfast, so that they have enough energy for the day.”
As the year winds down the campus is teeming with activity. The end of the year is marked by wine tours, Slope Day, formals and Senior Week, while also knocking back Red Bulls and all nighters in Uris. Whether it be long nights in the library in preparation for finals or a time for celebrating accomplishments; Cornell students at this time of year are living their lives in excess. Living at the extremes is nothing new for a cohort of high-achieving students vying for top positions in their fields. The process of getting there is often littered with long nights and inadequate (and often dangerous) coping mechanisms. High risk drinking is an issue at universities across the country, but at top universities like Cornell, there is the added element that it seems like self care is a luxury not afforded to the best students.
Over the past five years, total expenses for Slope Day have seen a net increase of more than $60,000 to $386,271.77 in 2015.
My freshman year was so lit. Not only was Kendrick Lamar our Slope Day performer in 2013, but Nas, Jhene Aiko, Elle Varner and John Legend also graced our campus. So, you can imagine my disappointment when this year’s Slope Day artists were announced. Like seriously, who are Walk the Moon and Cash Cash? Do not get me wrong, I understand that Cornell is comprised of thousands of students with varying music tastes but these people were not even on the survey that was sent out at the beginning of this school year.
This pop-centric lineup is a serious stylistic shift from recent Slope Day picks, which for the last several years have favored upcoming hip-hop and R&B artists.
The Slope Day Programming Board held its first-ever Slope Day Artist Selections Forum on Monday in Uris Hall, where students could help decide on possible artists for Slope Day 2016. The board presented a list of 28 artists compiled by the selections committee, which was based on the results from an online survey sent out to the student body. In the past, the decision was made during general body meetings, according to August Larmer ’17, co-selections director for the SDPB. The forum is part of their efforts to make the selections process more transparent. “The more transparent we are, the more understanding the student body will be about what artists we have the capability of bringing to Slope Day,” said Chloe Chan ’16, vice chairperson for the SDPB.