A group of CSU East Bay students briefly occupied the New Student Union last week, in protest over the abrupt cancellation of the annual Bayfest concert only 24 hours before it was scheduled to begin.

Led by members of Associated Students Inc. (ASI), including President Christopher Prado, a group of about 20 students clustered in front of Panda Express in the New University Union and voiced their mutual disappointment and frustration with administrators who cancelled the event.

“This table of leaders made a decision for the students without the students’ interests in mind,” chanted the crowd, repeating in unison the words of English major Allen Johnson. “This decision further embodies the trend of authoritative and tyrannical dogmatism we’ve all come to expect here at CSU East Bay.”

ASI Executive Director Randy Saffold told The Pioneer, in an exclusive interview that Bayfest had to be cancelled because the event organizers had not properly planned for the large crowds the show was going to bring in.

“Bayfest suffered from its success,” said Saffold. “It really came down to that we sold too many tickets because we misunderstood what the capacity for that actual room was.”

The event was supposed to have been hosted in the multipurpose room of the New Student Union – a room with a maximum occupancy of 343 people. 546 tickets were sold in pre-sale alone.

Saffold also mentioned that adequate insurance had not been obtained, which would have left CSUEB liable for any accidents that might have happened.

Some of the student protesters were doubtful about the official reason for the cancellation and expressed their belief that the decision was made because the headliner, an Oakland rapper named Too Short, was not welcome in the eyes of the administrators.

“I think they cancelled the show essentially because they didn’t like, for one, the artist that ASI was presenting, or the crowd that it would attract,” said Johnson. “Despite the fact that they continuously ignore the students, they will be held accountable.”

Saffold said that ASI had addressed any controversy regarding Too Short in a meeting the previous week.

“In the interest of freedom of speech and expression and knowing how much the students wanted to see this artist,” said Saffold, “We made a decision to go ahead and let that happen anyway.”

Though the price for tickets will be refunded to everyone who bought one, the money ASI paid for the rapper to perform will not be returned to the student organization whose budget comes from student fees.

The exact amount of the financial loss ASI has taken could not be obtained in time for publication, but Saffold said the total budget for Bayfest was around $14,000, though some of that amount was saved because the show was cancelled before setup.

ASI President Christopher Prado told The Pioneer that he was disappointed at not being included with administrators in the final discussion about the cancellation, because he was denied the chance to advocate for the students’ needs.

“I wasn’t even invited to that event,” said Prado. “I felt really disrespected by people I consider colleagues to not let me be involved in that process and put forth the strongest voice on behalf of the students.”

Whatever the reasons, the cancellation of Bayfest was a blow to those students who were looking forward to it and has left some with the feeling of deep disappointment.

“To have come here to a campus that doesn’t have too much going on and to have that be a concern of many students here who want to have some kind of campus life experience,” said ASI staff member and student Dominic Skipper, “The cancellation of this show is a real big slap in the face.”