Approximately 50 people (mostly Penn State students, some alumni, 1 kid from the Delta Program) have joined a group created by Ethan Palmer that is called UPUA President Gavin Keirans Should Resign.

Here’s their argument:

The comments are a little confusing though. For instance, former SOMA President Tim Knapton says,

To top it all off, I assure you that we can have a much better festival for significantly less than $62k, I don’t know how this could be done, but it’s something I’m going to work my ass off for while remaining pres-emeritus for SOMA next fall.

How are you assuring me if you don’t know how it can be done? That doesn’t make sense.

(Editor’s note: Tim Knapton was legitimately concerned that the above quote was taken out of context. He is sending us a more thorough explanation of his thoughts. We’ll post a link to it here when we get it.)

Ian Weissman, a student who says he is “more in to the jam band scene than the whole indie scene,” had this to say,

Hey all, I’m really liking this idea of another festival.

Dude, the whole argument for the group is that the festival was a waste of money. How is creating another festival the right remedy?

I’ve shared my thoughts on this before, but let me rehash: the important question here is not whether the money should have been allocated. Everyone seems to be in favor of Penn State sponsored festivals. Instead, the point of contention is whether Asher Roth was the best choice.

Keirans makes a good point in saying that because Asher Roth was just beginning to achieve mainstream popularity, he wasn’t charging an exorbitant rate, so he was a relatively good value. As far as we know, Asher Roth is not being paid more than the $10,000 limit set by UPAC.

Once again, we can’t pass judgment until tonight: let’s see how the student body reacts to the concert. That will be the true test.

P.S. I fully endorse this commenter’s suggestion: