As Homecoming for Morehouse and Spelman College approaches earlier than in previous years, students are eager to find out what this year’s homecoming concert lineup will be. Campus Alliance for Student Activities (CASA) President Jaden Palmer-Waldron ‘27 says he’s faced immense criticism from the student body regarding the perceived delay in announcing this year’s lineup.
In addition, planning for this year’s homecoming started earlier than what the current CASA executive board would’ve preferred as festivities are set to begin on Oct. 7. Maroon Tiger Managing Editor Freddrell Green ‘27 sat down with Palmer-Waldron on Sept. 30 to discuss how planning for homecoming went, the outcry for a concert lineup reveal and how shifts in organizational structure have affected CASA this year.
Green: What does anticipation for this year’s homecoming look like compared to previous years?
Palmer-Waldron: It’s free. This concert is gonna be the first free concert that the campuses have ever seen. With that, I think students shouldn’t just hear “free” and be like, “Well, that’s a bummer. We’re not going to have any good artists?” because Howard puts on a free concert every year for their students. It’s gonna be outside in a much more breathable space, whereas in the past we’ve had it held in Forbes Arena, we held it in the Dome, where people have been sweating, people have been very hot and right on top of each other too. So this concert/fashion show is going to be a festival.
Green: Why did CASA decide to have a free concert this year?
Palmer-Waldron: There are many parts that play into it. Funding and sponsorships is one. Location is another part because we weren’t allowed to continue with Forbes Arena. So understanding that there are only so many positions for us to be in, the Campus Green was the best place to do it. I really do like to bring up the Howard example a lot because I really feel as though they do a great job with their concert. We made our concert free, understanding that Campus Green is accessible from many places. So students shouldn’t, in my opinion, have to pay for the concert. So that’s the thinking behind it.
Green: Homecoming is a lot earlier than we’ve ever had since we got to Morehouse. Take me through how challenging that’s been as far as making sure everything is secured with such an early schedule on your shoulders compared to previous presidents of CASA.
Palmer-Waldron: Understanding that we are two weeks ahead of what we typically do definitely puts me in a harder position. We’re now getting the first week out of the way, so the rest of October is smooth. I think the biggest difference between me and other presidents was probably the fact that we had to start planning sooner. Obviously, it wasn’t an ideal situation for me and my brothers to be in. But all in all, what can you do in these situations, right? Are you gonna cry about it, or are you gonna actually do something about it and leverage the opportunity that you still have in front of you? So that’s what we’re doing.
Green: A lot of students are wondering what this year’s homecoming lineup is going to be. Clark Atlanta already revealed their lineup, and their concert will take place after ours. So what do you say to people who are still eager to see who’s going to be performing at this year’s concert?
Palmer-Waldron: I really question their patience. If you were in my position how would you go about it? What would you do? But these people aren’t in my position. So there’s a lot of pressure on us. But I think the element of surprise is something that, as a generation, we’ve gone away from. We’re very impatient. We chase instant gratification. So I’m always gonna refer to Howard. Howard does the same thing. They don’t reveal their artists, but everybody knows that there’s gonna be a concert on that day. At the end of the day, we’re not asking for students’ money. We’re putting up everything, and we’re just asking for their time. The time for students to just pull up and see what type of concert we’re going to put on. People talk about the homecoming experience all the time, but it’s a free experience that you could participate in yourself, and it’s up to the students whether they want to do that or not.
Green: In an interview on MT Spotlight, Fly Guy DC alluded to their being a vacuum at homecoming if he were to leave his hosting duties at Morehouse. Now that he and Damon Bellmon are gone, how has their absence affected CASA for this year’s homecoming?
Palmer-Waldron: It actually really makes me laugh that he made that sentiment. It’s no shade to DC at all. I really do have a lot of respect for what he does and what he has going on. But truthfully speaking, it’s not a one-man show. We all have connections on CASA. We’re on CASA for a reason. And actually, being so blunt with you, having Damon Bellmon and Fly Guy DC has actually limited the capacity of what CASA could be and what CASA truly is. With the new platform we have with [Joshua] Troutman ’17, we’ve been able to exercise our relationships and utilize those to bring these artists to school. This is student-driven. This is CASA. We do not need DC. We do not need Damon Bellmon. I want the AUC to get out of that. And it fires up my blood hearing that because the way that DC would market himself and his brand is that “Morehouse needs DC.” No, Morehouse has Isaiah Evans (ZaiSteppa), and we’re gonna utilize Isaiah Evans. We have Adeyemi Mitchell. We’re gonna utilize him. We have Kylen Smith. These are people who are gonna be bright-minded young men in the world of business one day. And I think having a grown person at that age being like, “it’s gonna be a vacuum,” says so much about who that person really is and how they are really truly adding value to where they’re at.
Green: When it’s all said and done, and homecoming season has passed, what do you want students to remember you for?
Palmer-Waldron: It wasn’t your Drake year. It wasn’t your Lil Durk year. It wasn’t the year at the Dome. It was a year where it was free, and it was a year where all you had to do was sacrifice your time to understand the experience that you’re about to get into. and with that, we’re collaborating on our concert as well. We didn’t have to collaborate. We could have left the AUC Agency to dry. But because of who my leadership team and I are and how we’re going about this year, we want to be able to leverage our platform to give other people a platform too. Me and Isaiah love to say that we’re doing God’s work because we are. And with that, we want people to know that we’re open to collaboration on this unique experience that we are providing for the AUC, as we are collaborating with the AUC agency.
This Q&A was edited for length and clarity.
