September is usually the month that students, who are tired from their studies, anticipate the most because many universities hold festivals. Last month, CBNU held a festival hosted by the Student Council from August 24th to 26th. A crescendo, also the name of the festival, is a collection of significant notes that create a harmonious unity. The notes in the festival are CBNU students. The CBT reporters visited the festival, Crescendo, where students gathered to have fun.

  The festival had a variety of booths and events lining the streets and sidewalks from the Gaesin Cultural Center to the Dept. of Business. Since the theme of the festival was a crescendo, Synergy, the Student Council, separated the venues of the festival into several sections and added musical markings to accentuate the event booths. Gaesin Square was the place where Synergy wanted to emphasize mezzo-forte. There were food trucks that sold all kinds of food and booths that sold accessories. Famous restaurants in Cheongju also participated, and many students and citizens enjoyed the festival. Unlike previous CBNU festivals, Synergy prepared for this festival by cooperating with outside companies. The Mezzo-piano Zone in front of the central library contained the Kyobo Bookstore, where various books and stationery were sold. Unlike the many other active zones, students were relaxing while reading books. Around the bookstore, various organizations, including the Korea Consumer Agency, Edu-job Korea and the Volunteer Center, provided useful information to students. Lee So-yeon (’18 Dept.of Chemical Engineering), said, “I am satisfied with the number of booths where people can get helpful information instead of just being simply entertained with foods and activities.”

  On the first day of the festival, a performance by Misstrot, a TV program and a lottery were held in the afternoon. Synergy prepared many activities for this festival. Online events were held including ‘Best Dresser’, which showed off clothes worn at the festival on SNS, ‘Writing a Poem with Crescendo,’ and ‘Museum Event,’ which included making a cup designed with Taegeuk symbols at the school museum. Also, offline events included ‘Finding Treasure’, where students hunted for treasures by figuring out hints, and a mission to find people who can play musical instruments. After the offline events were completed, the film Begin Again was screened in the square at the main gate. Hong Nu-ri (’17 Dept. of Mathematics ) said, “It’s been a long time since I saw it, and I like it so much that I always watch it again in the fall. When I sat on the lawn and watched the movie with my friends, it was a great moment.” 

  On the second day, the singers Davichi, 10cm and Kassy performed at the festival. Synergy tried to heed students’ complaints from previous festivals. The most frequent suggestion that CBNU decided to implement was to admit people who were not CBNU students to watch the performance, but Synergy first provided designated seats for students and gave them tickets. Thanks to Synergy, many students were satisfied with the festival.
 
  On the last day of the festival, there were lectures at the Gaesin Culture Center. In one lecture, Ha Sang-wook, who is a poet, gave a lecture on how to sympathize with others. He is famous among the 2030 generation because he wrote an extraordinary poem and gave pleasure to many people through the poem. Jung Chan-mi (Daejeon Univ.) said, “I came to see my friend’s university festival. I am a big fan of Ha Sang-wook’s poetry style and ingenious poetry. I wanted to meet him, so I was so happy to hear that he was coming to CBNU. I brought a book of his poems that I had read, and I got an autograph.” Also, Park Jae-hong, who is the director of EF Korea, gave a lecture on the fourth industrial revolution and tips for success. Cha Hae-ri, who is a YTN announcer, gave a lecture on interviewing and passing exams. The lectures were also available for outsiders. Lee Su-bin (’14 Dept. of Information and Communication Engineering) said, “The fourth industrial revolution is relevant to my major, but it is rare to be able to learn about the fourth industrial revolution in a class. I thought I would get valuable information by attending Park’s lecture.”
  In the evening, in the talent show, students showed off their singing talents. After the talent show, there were special performances by singers Ph-1, Simon-Dominic, and Epik-High.    Although a massive number of people crowded the square at the main gate, everyone was able to watch the performance safely due to Synergy’s planning. After the performances, the festival ended with a fantastic fireworks show.
  It was impressive that students showed good manners and cleaned the square after the performance. Bang Seung-wook, the director of the festival, said, “The Festival Preparation Committee and the Student Council worked hard to prepare for the festival. We are proud that not only students but also citizens enjoyed the festival. If we had another chance to prepare for the festival, minor changes could have been made to make it more perfect.” Crescendo ended in great success, and the students praised the festival. In keeping with Synergy’s aspirations, Crescendo was a masterpiece.

By Lee Dong-ah
da39@cbnu.ac.kr