Less than 90 minutes after University Union’s midnight announcement for Block Party 2012, #ThingsIdRatherDoThanGoToBlockParty was the No. 1 topic trending worldwide on Twitter.This reaction from students poses a problem for UU officials. Even though students made it clear UU missed the mark this time, they must remember that UU does listen and respond to as much student feedback as possible.

In UU’s annual survey, the electronic genre came in second behind rap and hip-hop, so it does appear there is a demand for this type of music on campus. DJ Kaskade is a successful artist from the electronic genre and was named ‘America’s Best DJ of 2011’ by DJ Times.

Although Kaskade is a successful artist in the word of electronica, his name is not familiar to SU students. Name recognition is an important factor for students when deciding whether to go to a concert.

UU did listen to concerns lodged by students previously. In the past, students complained UU did not have enough musical diversity in the larger concerts each year. Last year’s Block Party lineup featured rapper Nas and hip-hop artist Kid Cudi. Students complained the artists were too similar and served one audience.

This year, indie-rock band Cold War Kids will go onstage before DJ Kaskade. This is a refreshing change and shows UU officials do listen to student concerns, but some students complained they did not know who the indie-rock band was.

It is encouraging to see UU pick from top-rated genres from the survey and to see UU bring diversity to the Block Party lineup. But it is disappointing UU missed the mark with the actual artists. Going forward, UU should continue to listen to as many students as possible and make sure its Block Party survey reaches as many students as possible.