All too often, CAB gets a bad rap for the acts it brings in. So what if Raining Jane didn’t attract huge audiences? Who cares that the spoken-word poet drew in fewer than 10 students? What matters is that CAB, for all Simpson’s previous complaints, did land a solid act.

Comedian Ant was the winner of NBC’s Last Comic Standing and a host on Celebrity Fit Club. In fact, the public has been exposed to Ant’s comedy for a few years.

For Simpson College, this was big celebrity. Unfortunately, he was “big” enough to choose a television appearance over a small-town Iowa performance.

It isn’t too often that Simpson can draw big names. Then again, if Ant’s abrupt change of schedule is the kind of response CAB gets for booking celebrities, perhaps the group’s hesitance is valid. Nonetheless, Ant would have drawn a big crowd compared to other CAB events. Though CAB often looks for a great performance from a little-known band, the group truly hit the mark in spending a little more money to bring a bigger name to campus.

CAB now has to decide whether it’s worth it to reschedule Ant’s performance. It is. Since CAB struggles to get good attendance at its less-established performers, perhaps paying more for bigger names is worth it. Part of the student fee every Simpson student pays goes to bring acts like this to campus, so it makes sense to schedule acts more students will attend.

And if you’re a student who persists in complaining that CAB never brings anything good to Simpson, just stop. Even though he didn’t show, Ant is proof that CAB can bring in the big names to our small campus.