American River College’s talent event “ARC’s Got Talent” was postponed due to lack of student and faculty participation.

On May 13, Mario Rodriguez, a student personnel assistant in the Student Services department, sent out an email announcing the event will be moved to either next semester or next school year.

The new date has yet to be determined.

“We will be postponing the event for [fall] 2020 or [spring] 2021,” Rodriguez said.

On April 28, before the decision to reschedule performances, Rodriguez sent out an email to both faculty and staff inviting them to participate in or attend two events, ARC’s Got Talent and ARC Idol.

Both school-wide talent events are hosted by the Center for Leadership and Development and the Music Department to showcase a variety of ARC students.

ARC’s Got Talent was scheduled to take place on May 19 from noon to 2 p.m. This performance is open to any students who want to show off an exceptional skill or talent. 

ARC Idol was scheduled to take place on May 20 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and is open to all students, faculty and staff who want to perform solo or with a choir. Both events will be hosted online, through the app ConferZoom now at a later date.

One of the judges for ARC’s Got Talent, music department chair Dyne Eifertsen, says this event will be a great way to boost students’ morale after finals, but while quarantine still ails the nation. 

“The [arts] are a tonic for soothing people in troubling times,” Eifertsen said. “We are all affected by this pandemic and share common fears and anxieties. It is therapeutic for both the artist and the public and will hopefully help to alleviate some stress.”

Prior to the coronavirus shutdown on March 13, Rodriguez and Eifertsen were working toward creating more performances in the Student Center to give more publicity to ARC’s musicians and also provide the student body with live entertainment. 

According to Eifertsen, the Center for Leadership and Development and the Music Department have made it a point to maintain steady communication with their students during this time, and these events were another way to do just that. 

“Both of our departments are focused on communication and interaction with people and since that has been limited to online, we are trying to make the best of the situation,” Eifertsen said.

They were just gearing up for their first set of live concerts when the school closed.

It was Rodriguez’s idea to continue with the project remotely, thus birthing the concept for ARC’s Got Talent and ARC Idol. 

Rodriguez is now waiting to see how many students and faculty register in the next week to decide whether or not to postpone the event.

According to Eifertsen, they are trying not to interfere with students’ online work and finals. 

“Since they are bogged down with so much online work, making videos for recitals and juries, it is hard for [students] to take on another project,” Eifertsen said. “We are trying to use performances they are already working on.”

He says that because the event will be broadcasted over social media, it is available to be viewed at any time.

For more information contact Mario Rodriguez at [email protected].

This article was updated to reflect new information on May 13 @ 12:46 p.m.