Road closed Saturday for concert
700 North, the main road running east-west through campus, will be closed starting at 11 a.m. Sept. 4 for the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus concert starting at 8 p.m. that night.
The road will be blocked off from the Blue Premium parking lot on 700 North to the Fine Arts Building. There will be full access to the Big Blue Parking Terrace and Blue lots as well as the Fine Arts parking.
Tom Atwood, ASUSU programming vice president, said it was about an eight-week process to get permission to shut down the road. The Logan mayor and police, Cache Valley Transit District (CVTD), and Logan City Events Licensing all had to approve the plan before it was permitted.
Since the road is going to be closed all day Saturday, CVTD had to redirect one of their bus routes. However, CVTD Director of Marketing and Personal Relations Lisa Peterson said that they were happy to make changes so the university can have their activities.
“We changed the route enough to still be able to service the same area,” Peterson said, “and since that route was mainly for students, we hope they will be more understanding because it is a university activity.”
Peterson said closing down the road for the day didn’t cause any big issues but they appreciated the fact they were told about it in advance.
“We appreciated the chance they gave us to give them our input but we are always happy to work with the university,” Peterson said.
The Admissions office is one of the sponsors for the event and was in favor of holding the concert because they felt it was a good way to welcome incoming freshmen to Utah State.
“The Admissions office has been partnering with offices like ASUSU to sponsor activities the week before school starts as well as the first week of classes in an effort to create a friendly and smooth transition for our new students,” Jen Putnam, director of admissions said.
She said the Admissions office spends all year working with prospective students and “assuring them of the unique atmosphere and experience that is found at Utah State.”
“When they actually arrive to start their freshman year, we feel an expectation to do whatever we can to guarantee that the initial impression of Aggie life is a positive one.” Putnam said.
Atwood and Putnam said this will be a great opportunity for new students to meet other new and current students, and get a “jump start” on creating a community of their own in college.
“Our staff believes that the students are the best highlight we have here at USU,” Putnam said. “We hope they take advantage of every opportunity to meet other students and be involved on campus.”
Atwood said ASUSU is excited about this concert because it is going to be something that no student here at Utah State has experienced before. He said it will be a great way to start off the year and help Aggies realize that fun things are going to be happening throughout the semester.
Senior math major Lacy Christensen said she loves the idea of having an outdoor concert.
“I have never been to a concert on the street,” Christensen said. “Everyone can come enjoy themselves during one of the few nice weeks of Logan weather. I think it is a great idea.”
Putnam hopes this concert will be the first of many fun memories made here at USU and is happy to help sponsor the event.
“Anything we can do to help facilitate the affinity our students have for this university, we’ll do it,” she said.
–megan.b@aggiemail.usu.edu