Congratulations are in order to the Campus Activities Board for presenting the most successful concert in NIU history this past Tuesday. The Black Crowes show exceeded all previous ticket sales records on campus, in terms of money made. The Concert Committee consistently brought fine acts to NIU the past few years, and the effort is clearly shining.

The Crowes show was especially successful because there were no real security problems. Although lively and fun, the crowd of over 4,000 was neither violent nor childish—this probably had something to do with the large cloud of pot smoke hovering above the seats (people were still getting high on secondary smoke the following day).

After the show, more than one CAB member breathed a big sigh of relief. You see, while fools like you and me get to the big concert a half hour early and leave when the house lights come on, the people who organize the shows work hundreds of hours to pull it off. I won’t get into specifics, but trust me when I tell you that dozens of people worked many months to bring the Jayhawks and Black Crowes to the fieldhouse. To top it off, minutes before the show began, it was almost cancelled because of a minor technical difficulty.

But the show happened and everyone had a good time, including the large group of CAB members who worked various jobs during the show. It was incredible to see an entire organization get together for such an event; and it wasn’t just Concert Committee people there. Members of every committee were on hand to help.

What might be hard to believe is the fact that all CAB members are volunteers. Yes, even the committee chairpersons, who spend countless hours doing their jobs, do it for nothing. This, I think, explains a lot.

It seems that the people who work hardest and do the best work in society are the ones who don’t get paid. They spend many frustrating months working their butts off by choice; they do a good job because they care and get satisfaction from it.

There are fringe benefits, I’m sure, but the fact remains that they could be doing something else and getting paid. People complain about some of the work CAB does, but nobody is willing to step in and make a difference. Because no one is crazy enough to do all that work for nothing.

Maybe it’s for the best that CAB members don’t get paid. Because, if they did, money would get in the way. Undesirables would join the committees and ruin them by not doing quality work.

It’s like that everywhere else—look at the SA, for instance, where officers get paid and usually do mediocre work. Not to pick on them only, I admit that it’s like that at the Star too. Many people have told me that the only reason they work here is because of the money (which is not to say that we get paid a lot).

In the end, there are undedicated and unqualified people working at places that take lots of dedication and hard work. The ones who really care work for free. Thanks …