Colossus is over.

 

Guess what guys… after many years, Loyola’s annual two-night show, which often featured a musician one night and a comedian the other, won’t continue.

The event has been cancelled since May, current and former Department of Programming (DOP) students said. While DOP is student-run, the decision came from the top of Loyola’s Student Activities and Greek Affairs (SAGA) department without any input from students, according to the DOP students.

The decision was made after Colossus 2018 on March 17. On its second night, comedian Hannibal Buress, told a joke about Catholic priests molesting children. His microphone was cut. The restrictions banned content related to rape, sexual assault, race, illegal drug use and sexual orientation.

While university officials cited financial reasons for Colossus’ cancellation, the students at Loyola said they thought the Buress incident also played a factor.

Now, DOP can’t have a two-night event that weekend and feature a comedian and musician, the students said. It also can’t be called Colossus.

Instead, the students said DOP aims to spread out events featuring big-name guests across the academic year. Having musicians and comedians perform at Loyola is still an option, the students said.

That doesn’t mean an event that holiday weekend is off the table. Because of DOP’s “alternative programming” philosophy, the students said they’ve been brainstorming ideas for another type of event for St. Patrick’s Day weekend, but nothing’s been approved yet.