Death Cab for Cutie will take the stage at the Thunderdome on Tuesday, April 28 at 8 p.m. for their concert rewarding UCSB’s record voter registration in 2008.
Wristbands will be distributed in place of tickets the day before the concert at 9 a.m. in Storke Plaza. Students must bring their UCSB Access Cards to receive the wristbands and to the concert itself to obtain entry. The doors to the Thunderdome will open at 6:30 p.m. on the 28th.
According to Associated Students Program Board, students cannot receive more than one wristband. However, distribution may continue Tuesday morning at the Events Center Box Office if there is an excess of wristbands Monday evening.
UCSB was awarded the concert last fall for registering the most student voters in the 2008 presidential election through the Ultimate College Bowl contest, a national competition between college campuses that awards scholarships and concerts to encourage student voter registration. The campus defeated UC Berkeley at the last minute by 358 voters, ultimately registering 10,857 students.
A.S. Program Board Special Events Coordinator Sina Sadighi said although the organization encountered many financial obstacles when planning the event, the board was able to keep the concert at UCSB.
“We faced many challenges while planning the show, but ultimately the campus and the sponsors pulled through to make sure that the event happened,” Sadighi, a fourth-year political science major, said. “We did not want to disappoint our students.”
Although publicized as a free concert, Sadighi said the event is costing the university roughly $35,000 to date. The Ultimate College Bowl and its sponsors paid only for the cost of talent, leaving ASPB to seek additional funding for lighting, production, security, hospitality and advertisement.
At one point, ASPB considered passing on the concert to runner-up UC Berkley after receiving only partial funding from an A.S. Finance Board lighting request.
According to ASPB Publicity Coordinator Jillanne Porter, the Events Center Governance Board, Office of Student Life and various A.S. entities contributed funds to put on the event.
“If all of those entities didn’t come together from different areas of campus, this event would not be possible,” Porter, a third-year communication major, said.
According to Sadighi, the concert is the perfect venue for rewarding the hard work done by students during the presidential election.
“We want the students to have a good time and enjoy themselves and soak in the reward of what we accomplished last fall,” Sadighi said. “It’s a night to celebrate UCSB and its accomplishment; that’s why everyone should come out.”
Moreover, Porter said Program Board is grateful that the students endured the long wait and difficulties that went along with the preparation.
“We thank the campus for being patient with us,” Porter said. “I know a lot of times people were like ‘what’s happening with this,’ and we didn’t really have the answers. So we hope everyone is happy with the end result.”
Aside from registering the most voters, UCSB also had the highest percentage of student voters last fall. The prize for this second feat was a free concert from Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, although the performance was rescinded due to financial difficulties.