On April 1 of this year, Taylor Swift brought her highly-publicized “Eras Tour” to a sold-out crowd at Mt. St. A’s Some Guy Field. Given her recent trend of transforming the Mojo Dojo Casa Houses of the football world into her Lover Dreamhouse, it was only a matter of time before students here would get a chance to catch a glimpse of Kanye West’s worst nightmare. Given my role as The Anarchy’s “Swiftie-in-Chief,” and editor of the fanboy section of the paper, I was particularly proud of the opportunity to cover this concert.
The event was sponsored by Mt. St. A’s “Taylor Swift Society,” which earned the right to host Swift on campus by streaming the The Eras Tour film on
Disney+ for 13 days straight, a feat untouched by any Atlantic Canadian university. From the moment Swift’s private jet touched down at Moncton airport, the lavender haze was in the air. Given the Mt. St. A football team’s recent streak of coming up short, it was a welcome surprise to see the Some Guy Field stands packed with fans cheering for something they will actually remember when they leave school. Even the local businesses got in on the fun! (In particular, I quite enjoyed the “Bad Blood Orange” smoothie at Slayda’s Cafe.)
The concert brought an unprecedented boost to the finances of Mt. St. A. Given the fact that the cost of an average “Eras Tour” ticket usually makes a tuition payment look like pocket change, the ability to see Swift locally was a major draw to Mt. St. A students. In my years of attending Mt. St. A, I had never seen an event that brought so many facets of our university together all at once. It was truly exciting to see the once-dull Some Guy Field become a place where the girls and gays can scream all ten minutes of “All Too Well” at the top of their lungs.
Given the success of Swift’s engagement at Mt. St. A, the university administration has been giving some thought to revitalizing the campus community to reflect more Taylor-oriented values. These include the renaming of most (if not all) buildings on campus, even some in honour of Swift’s beloved cats. The new university cafe, Meredith Grey-cie’s, will begin offering chai cookies and a delicious new latte called “The Last Great American Dynas-tea.” The Benjamin Button Bookstore is your go-to spot to grab fancy shit to lay your tables with. This includes wine-stained dresses, willow trees, getaway cars, and enough cardigans to make Mr. Rogers jealous. The English department will officially become “The Tortured Poets Department,” and the newly-founded “Department of Mother Studies” will begin offering a major in Serveology, including mandatory classes on Swift, Lana Del Rey, and Reneé Rapp, just to name a few. The music conservatory will also begin accepting pieces from folklore and evermore in student repertoire, and the religion department will be offering a special course on the “Don’t Blame Me” high note. Most notable, however, is the permanent ban on all sports at Some Guy Field in favour of concerts. Students can expect to see Olivia Rodrigo’s “GUTS Tour” and Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday World Tour” very soon.
At next month’s convocation ceremony, graduating students will even get the special treat of watching Swift receive an honourary doctorate, and be invested as the president, chancellor, vice president, and literally every other position at Mt. St. A. Mother is mothering, and it’s going to hit different.
