The crowd of students at Skytop Field on Sunday not only cheered for the musical artists taking the stage, but for recent Syracuse University graduate Stephen Barton, a survivor of this summer’s movie-theater shooting in Aurora, Colo.

Barton announced that $1 from every ticket sold to this year’s Juice Jam concert will be donated to an organization aiding victims of the shooting, which took place July 20 during a midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises.” A shooter killed 12 people and wounded 58 others in the attack.

Barton was among the injured victims.

“The timing of the tragedy coincided with the planning of Juice Jam,” said Ken Consor, director of concerts for University Union. “Stephen was a big factor in why we decided to donate the proceeds. It hit close to home.”

Barton, who was shot in the neck, face and arm, was involved in selecting the organization where donations would be made, Consor said. Both UU and Barton completed significant amounts of research to find the right organization.

The ninth-annual Juice Jam sold 8,500 tickets, setting a record for the highest-selling Juice Jam concert UU has organized.

UU and Barton decided on the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance, an organization committed to restoring balance and healing into the lives of crime victims and their families, according to its website. All of the donations currently being made to COVA go directly to the Aurora victims and their families. The donations help pay for victims’ airfare, rental cars and emergency fund situations, according to its website.

“Stephen knew better than we would on how to help the Aurora victims,” said Lindsey Colegrove, UU president.

This is not the first year that UU has donated proceeds from Juice Jam to charity. Last year’s Juice Jam concert took place on Sept. 11, so UU decided to donate some of the concert’s proceeds to SU’s chapter of the Better Together for 9/11 initiative. The campaign organized a series of events to remember those lost in the attacks.

“I would love to see Juice Jam as a charitable concert,” said Colegrove, a senior public relations and information management and technology major. “It’s a great tradition for the future and really adds to the show.”

Barton made a surprise appearance at Juice Jam to inform SU students of the donation. Barton, who gave the student commencement speech in May, thanked the cheering crowd for all the support the SU community has given him during the past few months.

“After what happened to me, I realized that you have to live life to the fullest,” Barton told the crowd. “And I can’t think of a better thing to do on a Sunday afternoon than to listen to Calvin Harris.”

Published on September 10, 2012 at 12:43 am

Contact Meredith: mhnewman@syr.edu | @MerNewman93