Flo Rida to make a splash

Rapper Flo Rida will perform as part of this year’s Fountain Day festivities, in one of several changes coming to the University at Albany’s popular spring tradition.

Scheduled for April 25 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Fountain Day 2010 will be sponsored by the Student Association for the first time in recent years, according to Jen Anderson, associate director of Student Involvement & Leadership.

“We’re welcoming Student Association to a more prominent role,” Anderson said.

“Years ago, SA played a role in Fountain Day, then faded out,” SA Programming Director Reuben Ingber said. “When I became programming director, I pushed for it.”

According to Anderson, the benefits of collaborating with SA include an “added student value” and being able to add more staff for the event.

This year’s theme for Fountain Day has yet to be announced but t-shirts and beach balls will have the SA logo on them.

With SA sponsoring the concert portion of the event, the hope is to get more students to the podium earlier.

The concert, which will be held on the “SA Splash Stage” on the main podium in front of the Campus Center, is scheduled from 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.

Flo Rida, well known for his 2008 hit “Low” and 2009 single “Right Round,” was the winner of a survey given to students last year, according to SA Marketing Director Jessica Wah.

Other possible artists were T-Pain, Pitbull, LMFAO and Ke$ha.

According to Ingber, the decision was based on several criteria including ease of setup, broad appeal, finances and artist availability.

Ingber said SA would not be releasing contract terms. He also said the artist choice in the spring tends to be different from the fall concert.

The Albany Student Press filed a Freedom of Information Law request for the contract early Monday.

From 1:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., before Flo Rida hits the stage, there will be a Greek stroll exhibition. After Flo Rida’s set, a DJ from campus radio station WCDB will take over to start the countdown until the fountain turns on.

Other changes to Fountain Day 2010 include alumni no longer being allowed to join the festivities, the entrance and food tents will stay open throughout the entire event, an additional food tent and “improvements” to the check-in area will also be implemented.

The Fountain Day concert will be in place of UAlbany’s spring concert, Parkfest.

“The spring concert can only hold 3,000 in the SEFCU Arena,” Wah said. “Last year, 9,000 people registered for Fountain Day.”

According to Wah, the lowest recorded attendance for Fountain Day doubled the attendance for the last spring concert.

SA will focus on the World Within Reach Speaker Series, which features a debate between Karl Rove and Howard Dean, as its new spring attraction, Ingber said.

According to Anderson, some things that will remain the same about Fountain Day are the no re-entry policy, shuttles between the uptown and downtown campuses, and the main fountain will stay open during the entire event.

Registration begins on April 1 on MyUAlbany.