This coming weekend will see larger-than-life rapper, Ludacris star in Big Show 8 ‘- a mid-day concert organized by the Associated Students under the SPACE (Student Production And Campus Entertainment) that is free to attend for all California State University, Northridge students.

Associated Students ticketing employees say the Big Show franchise have historically been well attended and that the eighth installment will prove no different with more than a thousand tickets already sold.

‘Sales are pretty good’hellip; previous ones we sold out on the same day,’ said A.S. representative, Ali Garcia, 21.

Past Big Show installments have featured stars like Ne-Yo, among others, raising questions on attendance and parking issues.

But campus safety officers say they don’t foresee any problems with the event.

‘We have always staffed the Big Show,’ said Capt. Alfredo Fernandez of the CSUN Police Department, ‘we have never had a significant problem arising from the show’hellip;not even in the dorms.’

Fernandez’s colleague, Sgt. Jim Stotler agreed, adding that parking should also be a non-issue.

‘Campus police will be in charge of security’hellip;we have 36,000 students on campus, we are not 36,000 (on Saturday), there’ll be enough parking,’ said Sgt. Jim Stotler from the campus police department.

Dorm resident and child development major, Regina Bodden, 20, was confident that the event would be safe.

‘We have regular police, Matador police and Ludacris has his security,’ said Bodden, who is also a volunteer at the event.

Undeclared student David Villa, 20, who was visiting friends at the dorms, said he was less concerned about parking and more about parties that could potentially spill over to student housing.

He said that dorm residents could bypass recent security installations by bringing friends and ‘friends of friends’ in.

But dorm residents scoffed at the idea.

‘Anything happens and the dorms get shut down,’ said Frank Parks, 19. ‘The dorms are so strict now.’

Bodden agreed, saying, ‘If you check someone in, they have to be out by 1 a.m. otherwise it is an overnight and they charge you $30.’

Asked why she thought the dorms implemented such strict measures, Bodden, who is also volunteering at the show, said that during her freshman year, there were too many parties and unauthorized visitors staying over.

The Associated Students’ latest budget put total funds for this year’s show at $115,000 with $40,000 dedicated to ‘contracted services – talent.’

In contrast, St. John’s University’s student paper, The Torch, reported that Ludacris was paid roughly $85,000 for a single appearance in March 2007.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BIG SHOW 8

Where
? Saturday, Oct. 11
from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Sierra Quad

Tickets
? Free tickets for CSUN students at Ticket Office
? CSUN ID must be shown with ticket at door
? $25 for Non-CSUN Students through Ticket Office
? $30 for Non-CSUN Students through Ticketmaster

Parking
? $5. Park in lots B1, B2, B3, B5