Union Board seeks Little 500 concert

The Union Board is currently in the planning stages for booking a concert for Little 500 week this year. Last year, there was no concert. Instead, the Board scheduled alternate programming in the form of Hoosier Idol and the Little 5 Step-Down.\n"Last year, we tried getting in touch with a ton of acts, but we just came up empty-handed," said Jake Rohn, 2003 director of concerts.\nLast year, the Union Board primarily focused on booking a hip-hop act, as that was what the majority of students wanted. However, the prices charged by the artists the Union Board wanted proved to be well over budget.\nThis year, Rohn said the Union Board has contacted a more diverse selection of artists, including John Mayer, Outkast, Linkin Park, Ludacris and Bob Dylan.\nHowever, with Ludacris, the Board ran into the same problem as last year: an artist charging more than the Union Board can afford.\nMayer is visiting nearby campuses like Illinois and Purdue around the time that IU goes on Spring Break, but he remains a possibility if he fits Bloomington in later on in his tour. \nUnion Board does not anticipate having its programming for Little 500 week to be finalized until shortly before Spring Break, but they do hope a musical act will be a part of the week, according to Union Board 2004 Marketing Director Sarah O'Brien.\nConcerts have been a staple of Little 500 week in the past. In recent years, concert acts included Guster, Nelly, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters and John Mellencamp.\nThe next concert on the Union Board schedule is O.A.R. Feb. 2. Rohn said that there are tickets still available.\nAnother event coming up on the schedule is the now annual Union Board Film Festival, which will be held Feb. 5 through 7. The festival will consist of original shorts (under 30 minutes) from IU undergraduate and graduate students.\n"We've gotten a little bit of everything, ranging from action movies to documentaries," said Ryan O'Connell, 2003 Films Director.\nSubmissions for the contest are due on Saturday. The films will be shown on Feb. 5 and 6, with an awards ceremony Feb. 7.\nThe movies will be judged by a faculty panel for the "Critics Choice" awards, and students will vote on the films that they judge worthy of the "People's Choice" awards.\nThe guest speaker at the event will be Rachael Mosley, editor-in-chief of "American Cinematographer" magazine.\nStudents interested in submitting a film can contact filmfest@indiana.edu\n--Contact senior writer Alex Hickey at ahickey@indiana.edu.