ISABELLA DISTEFANO
Asst. Social Media Manager
If you’ve been watching YouTube for the past few years, the name David Dobrik may sound familiar to you.
That name will probably become even more familiar this spring — because he’s coming to SUNY Fredonia.
According to Spectrum Fredonia’s Twitter page, David Dobrik’s Fredonia visit will begin on Friday, March 27.
But what about the concert that we have every spring semester? Instead of a musical performance, this year Spectrum invites a social media star to campus.
Dobrik started his career off on Vine, a six-second video sharing app.
Since the app no longer exists, he has moved over to YouTube — where he has well over 15 million subscribers.
His videos typically involve his friends and can be compared to Oprah, as he has given away fancy cars to those close to him, for example.
While this change of the usual act may come as a surprise, some Fredonia students can’t wait.
“I think it’s super cool that he’s coming here and that someone can get so big on YouTube that they can tour colleges,” said Claire Mancarella, senior communication disorders and sciences major. “I watch his videos. They’re so fast-paced and fun, he really draws you in.”
While many students are excited he’s coming here, a few students reacted more coolly.
“It’s kind of exciting to get a social media person to come. I’m a little concerned though because he’s not a performer like everyone is used to in the past. I’m definitely excited to see what it’s going to actually turn out to be,” said Ronny Nissen, a senior adolescence Earth science education major.
[RELATED: Spectrum announces comedy show to take place of spring concert]
In the past, Dobrik has given away things while on his college tour dates. But that isn’t guaranteed to happen for Fredonia’s stop.
Justin Taylor, a senior history major and third party insider to Spectrum’s executive board, said that there was an “uneven divide within Spectrum’s e-board between bringing David Dobrik or Bo Burnham to Fredonia’s campus.”
Taylor was asked by a member of the e-board to weigh his thoughts on the situation.
“All he does is go around and give people things. He doesn’t tell any jokes, he’s not a musician, he’s not any of that,” said Taylor. “In previous years, Fredonia has brought acts such as Kid Ink and Sal Vulcano with Chris DiStefano. So we were worried that it would be a small portion of the campus that would get to, in essence, rip the benefits of him coming here.”
Taylor also said that “Spectrum used their whole budget on getting Dobrik to come [to Fredonia,] instead of using a part of their budget on Bo Burnham, a comedian and than the rest of their budget on an opening performer.“But with David Dobrik, we would be spending all of that money for one act to come,” said Taylor. “Supposedly, the contract he made with the school is not like he’s forced to give anything away. He can literally just come, show up and that’s it.”
Taylor is unaware of what Dobrik will do once he does come to Fredonia. On Twitter, Dobrik has been seen in residence halls hanging out with students.
The Leader reached out to Spectrum for a comment on why Dobrik was selected for the spring show, but the club’s president, Elizabeth Shearer, declined to comment on the matter.