Every September, the University of Minnesota’s Student Union and Activities (SUA) begins hiring for the upcoming Spring Jam, which takes place each April. When hiring is completed in November, they say they “hit the ground running” preparing for the upcoming spring’s event, which takes place this year on Saturday.
Despite being open to the entire University community, the SUA team planning the event is only seven people, according to Luke Geister-Jones, a fourth-year student and lead planner for this year’s Spring Jam.
The team consists of three student planners, including Geister-Jones, three advisors from SUA and Ashley Kaser, who is also the program manager for Spring Jam. Paul O’Brien, the event’s marketing manager, is also on the team and is the team’s “plus one,” Geister-Jones said.
“We make a really tight team of six plus one that works on Spring Jam,” Geister-Jones said.
Spring Jam challenges
Planning Spring Jam comes with unique challenges every year, but one constant obstacle is working around the University’s academic calendar, according to Kaser.
“The timelines are tricky, especially factoring in things like winter break, which not only affects student schedules, but a lot of the people we work with take time off,” Kaser said. “We lose a few weeks there and that’s kind of a critical time for us.”
Kaser said preparations “absolutely erupt” after spring break and there is a “whole new energy” behind getting things set up for the event.
Geister-Jones said it can be stressful preparing for Spring Jam as a student. It includes on-the-job learning, such as working with a large budget, managing ambiguity caused by not having answers right away and planning the music artist lineup. This brings a lot of pressure, as students often complain if they are not satisfied with the selections.
“At least for me, and probably for the other two student advisors, this is a position where we’ve had some of the biggest responsibilities and biggest stakes in our young professional careers,” Geister-Jones said. “You might be learning something in week one that you’re expected to do with proficiency in week three, which is exciting and difficult.”
Changes from last year
Kaser said while many features of Spring Jam stay consistent each year, such as the time, location, musical performances and rides, the rest of the event is up to what the students want.
“We tell them, ‘Here are some parameters for what you can do,’ along with some budget things to keep in mind,” Kaser said. “We [the SUA advisors] interject with our experience having been around the event, but the students kind of get to make it their own each year.”
Geister-Jones said the students preparing this year’s Spring Jam have worked to make it their own by improving negative aspects students mentioned in feedback surveys last year. This includes ensuring there are food trucks that meet dietary restriction needs, improving event security to speed up lines at the entrance and getting more student groups to participate in the event as “Friends of Spring Jam.”
Kaser said the “Friends of Spring Jam” program started at last year’s event and invites student groups to host activities or perform on stage during the event.
“Last year we were really trying to emphasize a shift away from a traditional music festival into a campus festival,” Kaser said. “We really wanted Spring Jam to celebrate and reflect the University community and to make space for everyone there.”
Geister-Jones said there were 17 student groups registered as “Friends of Spring Jam” as of April 11. The groups include Minnesota Quidditch, the Breakdancing Club, the University Transfer Student Board, StudioU and the Psychedelic Education Club.
A “Friend of Spring Jam” Describes Their Preparations
Boynton Health’s Health Advocates will be participating in Spring Jam for the first time on Saturday, according to Maddie Kotz and Mullai Velappan, two senior health advocates in the student group.
The Health Advocates provide health resources and information to students who live in on-campus residences. One of the group’s goals is to make sure students of all backgrounds feel comfortable while having access to appropriate and inclusive care.
Velappan said Health Advocates received an email from SUA encouraging groups to apply to be a “Friend of Spring Jam.” After proposing it at a team meeting, the group decided it would be a great opportunity to get involved in the University community.
Kotz and Velappan said the application process to be a “Friend of Spring Jam” was brief and involved writing one paragraph about what they wanted to do at the event. SUA also offers up to $250 to all student groups participating in the event to cover the cost of supplies, which the Health Advocates received.
“Our goal is to always promote wellness to students and make sure students know what resources are available to them on campus,” Velappan said. “We figured Spring Jam would be a good way to make the Health Advocate program more well known within the University community.”
Kotz said Health Advocates is planning to have an activity at Spring Jam promoting wellness and education. Students will be able to spin a wheel with health-related trivia questions and will be entered into a contest to win one of many prizes if they answer the question correctly.
“I think this activity is fun because everybody likes to be quizzed and challenged a little bit, and it allows people to stop at our table very briefly before moving on to the rest of their Spring Jam activities,” Kotz said. “But hopefully students come away knowing what the Health Advocate program is and how they can get involved.”
The group will also have medical kits to show the materials students can access through a Health Advocate, according to Kotz.
“We hope that people will come in and stop by our table,” Kotz said. “Even if it’s just for a short moment, you might have the opportunity to win a prize, and maybe learn something about health that you didn’t know before.”
