In her homeland of Vietnam, Senior Jiun Tseng attends an arts and music festival that is filled with the socially unacceptable. Listening to a college dropout speak about his journey to music and admiring the courage work artists display, Tseng is captivated by the creative aura that surrounds her.

“I went to an arts festival in Vietnam called Saigon Outcast. Vietnam is a developing country, and people hold prejudice against certain people, like bisexuals and people who have completely different ideology from the eastern culture. There were displays of artwork that are not socially accepted there, and they were all talented artists,” Tseng said.

Inspirational outlets, like the one Tseng took part in, are seen as the key to engaging Millennials in political matters. President Barack Obama held his own music and arts festival at the White House and titled it “South by South Lawn” in order to speak out to the younger generation.

President Obama was directly influenced by the infamous arts festival South by Southwest, which is held every year in Austin, Texas. According to whitehouse.gov, “You can nominate yourself or someone you know” for this prestigious event. Junior Savana Rodgers finds that this event is an ingenious idea.

“I would definitely go to a music festival sponsored by a president because I think that they would have a lot of fun activities there, they would have the best artists there to perform,  and there would be a lot of famous people from TV shows and movies,” Rodgers said.

Senior Jessica Guevara believes that South by South Lawn is one of the many positive things President Obama has done during his term to promote progressivism.

“I believe he knows he’s the most open minded president we are going to see for a long time. Plus, with all his decisions, speeches, and laws, like equal marriage, he’s demonstrated that the world is changing and our ideals should as well,” Guevara said.

Musicians such as The Lumineers and Gallant performed at this event. Leonardo DiCaprio sat at a panel with the President to discuss climate change. Although the event was a success, will this become an annual festival held by our future presidents? Rodgers does not have hope for South by South Lawn in the future.

“I do not think the next president will host something like this because we will either have Trump or Hillary, and they both do not seem like the type of people to want to have a fun time,” Rodgers said.

Guevara also does not foresee South by South Lawn as a permanent White House event.

“If Hillary is elected, she might continue this her first year to seem hip, but I don’t believe she will continue it afterwards. As for Trump, he will be busy trying to get the wall passed by Congress and built,” Guevara said.

However, Tseng agrees that the consensus of the event is that it went extremely well, and South by Southwest will forever be remembered as a first for the White House, pioneered by President Barack Obama.

“I think it is to be more engaging with the younger audience. Maybe a part of it is just to promote his overall image of a good president, and maybe to help our future presidents to continue his legacy,” Tseng said.

Senior Jessica Guevara Quotes:

“No, I haven’t heard about South by South Lawn.”
“No, I haven’t gone to a music festival before, but I would like to attend one. Specifically a glow rave, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits. The neon paint would be amazing to be covered in. Lollapalooza and ACL usually have really good people performing as well. Oh, and as cliché as it sounds, I would like to sell a kidney for Coachella. It’s super expensive but I know it will be worth it.”

“I believe he knows he’s the most open minded president we are going to see for a long time. Plus, with all his decisions, speeches, and laws, like equal marriage, he’s demonstrated that the world is changing and our ideals should as well. He walked in the office absolutely despised by the American population, especially during his second term, but is walking out adored with his life long best friend, Joe. He and Michelle have made such a big impact these last few years in attempt to change the conventional mindsets of Americans.”

“If Hillary is elected, she might continue this her first year to seem hip, but I don’t believe she will continue it afterwards. As for Trump, he will be busy trying to get the wall passed by Congress and built.”
“I wouldn’t attend the music festival if it wasn’t Obama running it. Perhaps I would if we get better presidents after Hillary or Trump, but not anytime soon. Hillary and Trump are too conservative and aged for things like this. They also don’t have teenage kids to help them be more adaptable & understanding of the youth like Obama does with his daughters.”

“I think his purpose was not only to support the arts and music, but actually demonstrate the change in America. No other president has thrown an informal party like a music festival.”

Junior Savana Rodgers Quotes:

“I haven’t heard of it before.”

“I’ve never been to a music festival, but when I get a little older I’m definitely going to a lot them.”

“I think Obama would host something like this because he has become really laid back since he is coming to the end of his presidency. He’s the type of guy to crack jokes on stage in front of the whole country, so he would definitely throw a music festival.”

“I do not think the next president will host something like this because we will either have Trump or Hillary, and they both do not seem like the type of people to want to have a fun time.”

“I would definitely go to a music festival sponsored by a president because I think that they would have a lot of fun activities there, they would have the best artists there to perform, and there would be a lot of famous people from TV shows and movies. Plus, it would be a fun way to get out of the house.”

“I think Obama’s purpose for this was to really try and go out with a bang in his career as the leader of our nation and to bring people together to experience a fun time at the white house.”

Senior Jiun Tseng Quotes:

“I think I read about it on Snapchat, but it didn’t intrigue me.”

“Yes, I’ve been to an arts festival before. I found that the exposure was interesting and that there were many people with different perspectives. I went to an arts festival in Vietnam called Saigon Outcast. Vietnam is a developing country, and people hold prejudice against certain people, like bisexuals and someone who has completely different ideology from the eastern culture. We had an amazing talk with this musician who was a college dropout, which is a big no-no for Asian countries. He told us that one day he woke up and abandoned everything to become a pretty awesome musician. There were displays of artwork that are not socially accepted there, and they were all talented artists. There were tattoo stations, terid card reading stations, and I thought that was pretty cool. Here, I went to The Little Craft Show. I would like to go to more.”

“I feel like the young generation, the future of our country who will take hold of things, and I feel like him as our leader of our country should not just engage with the older audience, but young people too. I follow Michelle Obama on Instagram, and she always has interests posts, like she posted a national poetry competition earlier. Young people from all over the nation gets engaged with it, and I think that what the White House is trying to do to engage their younger audience and to prepare them to run our country.”

“Since Hillary is such a liberal candidate, and she talked about investing education in the middle class by making college debt free, and that’s how our country will prosper, and I feel like she is going to have something similar to this. For Trump, I feel like if we raise the matter right now when they are still fighting for presidency, then he will make promises just to appeal to the larger audience. But i feel like Trump would go more on trade and how to slash taxes. He wants to cut taxes overall, and that includes education, so I don’t think he would continue this sort of event.”

“I would definitely go to one, even if it’s run by Trump because even if it sucks, I want to see what he has for our country. I just want to get that exposure and experience.”

“I think it is to be more engaging with the younger audience. Maybe a part of it is just to promote his overall image of a good president, and maybe to help our future presidents to continue his legacy.”