As Franklin & Marshall students trudge through course selection, housing lotteries and finals, there’s one event on the horizon for F&M students that has everyone buzzing for weeks: the College’s annual Spring Arts concert.
This year, there were several abrupt changes made to Spring Arts’ carefree atmosphere that F&M students had come to love. An announcement from Drew Stelljes, VP for Student Affairs, hit student inboxes on March 26, two days before the concert. “The decision has been made to move Spring Arts from our location on Hartman Green into the Mayser Center (which historically has been the location for the Spring Arts concert in past years). This decision was not made lightly, but for the good of the entire community, we have made this adjustment,” Stelljes wrote.
Alongside this location change, the College also announced new guidelines pertaining to attendees’ bags and drinks via a school-wide email, also sent out on March 26.
One section of the email, titled Alcohol Safety, included the following message: “Open containers of alcohol, including BORGs, are not permitted at Spring Arts or at any other campus events … Students who violate college policy will be subject to formal disciplinary action. Intoxicated individuals, or students who attempt to bring in alcoholic beverages will not be permitted to enter the event.”
The response from students was immediate. Students on Fizz began to question the sudden changes to the nature of the event and theorize about why these announcements were made so late.
Some wondered if the relocation to Mayser Gymnasium was done in an effort to ensure a total absence of alcohol, with some students even suggesting that the new public safety chief, Jonathan Rosnick, had a large influence on the changes. Chief Rosnick has been working for the college since September 2024.
Others were concerned for the student volunteers from the CEC who had dedicated much of their time recruiting artists, managing logistics and organizing vendors for Spring Arts; these students were now facing much of the negative response, despite their minimal involvement in major decision-making.
Refusing to abandon their hard work, the CEC insisted that the event would still be enjoyable, despite the major changes. They even went as far as to reference previous performances that had taken place in Mayser, including those of major artists like The Grateful Dead, The Beach Boys and The B-52s. While this did seemingly ease the worries of some students, others felt that it was an unfair comparison to draw.
By 2 p.m., it was clear that Spring Arts had already started on the wrong foot. The heavy Public Safety presence at the entrance was impossible to ignore. In an interview after the event, an anonymous senior expressed his personal discomfort at the increased police presence this year: “I get that the school was trying to increase police presence to make sure that the students weren’t drinking, but I didn’t feel particularly safe having a bunch of dudes with guns walking all around.”
Despite having repeatedly announced a 2 p.m. start time, CEC was not ready to begin Spring Arts at the allotted hour. The administration also greatly misrepresented the bag policy of the event. In a memo released by CEC less than 24 hours before the event, it was stated that “large bags” would be “absolutely prohibited.” This was followed by an exception to this mandate- “Smaller bags are allowed but may be inspected at the door.” When students showed up at Mayser Gymnasium on March 28th at 2 pm to enter the event, they were repeatedly told that all small bags could not enter the building.
Many students attended the opening set of Airtime, a new student band featuring several talented F&M students, including Jake Baringer, Gaia Dash, Mithayus Diaz, Ben Fetterman and CJ Marlin. After Airtime finished their set, many attendees began to clear out of Mayser Gym in favor of finding something to eat, with many not returning for the following sets and the headlining performance.
By the following afternoon, the energy on Fizz was low, and many students unabashedly proclaimed Spring Arts 2026 to be the “worst Spring Arts ever.”
It is clear that students are worried about the longevity of one of the most beloved events on our campus. While the students yearn for relaxed, laid-back energy from Spring Arts of years past, the College and its administration seem to be headed in a different direction entirely. While it’s unclear right now whether or not the changes to this year’s Spring Arts will persist into the following school years, it’s clear that the student body was dissatisfied with the execution of Spring Arts 2026, and is demanding more leniency from the school.
Junior Ben Reichert is a Contributing Writer. His email is breicher@fandm.edu.