Concert concludes SAFE week

April 17, 2006 —

by Brandon Kish

Ember Swift (right) and Lyndell Montgomery perform Wednesday night in the Curtiss Hall banquet rooms. The Canadian folk/rock band was one of several highlights during SAFE week, which was sponsored by the SVSU Gay-Straight Alliance.

by Brandon Kish

Last week saw many students joining together on campus to celebrate SAFE (Students Acting For Equality) Week, its culmination coming Wednesday with Canadian folk/rock band Ember Swift playing a small concert on campus.

The week-long event was sponsored by the SVSU Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), and its main goal was, according to Meg Gotham of the GSA, "just to bring people together and show them similarities, not differences."

"The whole week was great despite a lack of volunteering," said GSA President Aaron Brown, "but the spirit was behind it."

The GSA had a slew of events scheduled, including dodge ball, the SAFE Gaymes, and the concert, which all students were invited to attend.

The band, which featured singer/guitarist Ember Swift and bassist/violinist Lyndell Montgomery, hails from Ontario, Canada. It has enjoyed moderate success and has released several albums since 1996.

"Making music is my emotional outlet of choice and I feel very lucky to be able to do this for a living," Swift said. "It is something that I am sure I will always do in my life."

Before the show, the band enjoyed a dinner with members of GSA. The band seemed to enjoy its brief stay at SVSU and credited Gotham for her support in bringing them here.

"It usually takes a student who has seen and enjoyed a performer to advocate for having a performer on campus," Swift said. "Meghan was that student and we appreciated her advocacy."

The concert took place in the banquet rooms in Curtiss Hall. In a very intimate performance, the band seemed to echo the same message SAFE week and the GSA had been trying to communicate across campus. In the first song played, Swift sang the words, "Brave enough to say, this is not the way for me." It was fitting with the week's theme of wanting to induce a change in thought among students.

Despite having a great week, many members of GSA seemed a bit skeptical about bringing back another week of events.

"It's hard to say," Brown said about the possibility of another concert next year. "We hope to, but we need more student involvement and attendance. We can only do things if students show support."

When asked about the week's activities, Emily Dryzga, internal events coordinator for the GSA, reflected Brown's comments.

"At a school like this we should be setting examples, not just following the mainstream," she said.

Brown continued to speak of the trouble getting another concert like Swift's to come to the school.

"If the University wants more student involvement, make it less of a hassle," he said. "They have motivated students, people willing to do the work, but the (University's) people are unwilling to work with students."