CramJam goes off without a hitch

Despite the negative reputation that CramJam had in the past, the scaled down event was a success in welcoming students back to classes.

By Abby Wiseman [coordinating editor]

After a long day of perusing Welcome Week booths, Kwantlen students chilled out with a beer and pop-singer Karl Wolf at this year’s CramJam.

The general atmosphere at the annual event, which was held on Thursday, Sept. 9 on Surrey campus, was happy as old and new students soaked up the vibe.

The night opened with local artists Lamar Ashe and Heatwave who got the scattered crowd going.

Wolf hit the stage around 7:00 pm, but took his sweet time and spoke to the audience from behind the stage, teasing them by talking about taking off his shirt to show off his Dubai tan.

When he finally appeared on stage, he brought out some good energy, which carried through the whole performance. By the end, he delivered on the no shirt suggestion.
Returning students Brock Chatterly and Nevin Macdonald had to help each other figure out who Karl Wolf was while sipping on a beer at Grassroots Cafe. After figuring it out they both agreed that CramJam is better this year because of the beer and the later start.

“The school needs to do more stuff like this because people just come here and they leave and they don’t talk to other people,” said Chatterly.

Both agreed that although they might not know the music, it was a worthwhile thing for student life.

The KSA funded CramJam has a history of costing too much and not producing. In 2008, the KSA lost $50,000 with Daniel Wesley and Sloan headlining.

This year Reena Bali, KSA director of student life and events, says that the KSA stayed on budget by organizing the event themselves instead of hiring an event planner.

“I think it’s one of the best ever,” said Bali. “I think all us are really happy for putting together CramJam ourselves this year, doing it in house, and staying under budget.”

New students Leanza Fee, Aba Ine and Lindsay Danyluk were stoked to hear Wolf’s radio hit Africa, but were more happy to have the chance to mingle with new classmates.

“I think it’s awesome, it brings people together who have never met,” said Fee.

After the show the Grassroots cafe sponsored by Okanagan Springs Brewery held an after party with $3 beer and a DJ.