Brooklyn is quickly becoming a mecca for artists, and MTV hopes to bank on the aura exuded by the borough of Spike Lee, Walt Whitman, Arthur Miller and Coney Island. The 2013 MTV Video Music Award ceremony will take place in the Barclays Center on August 25, marking what MTV says is the 30th anniversary of the show. It will also be the first major annual awards show to take place in the borough of Brooklyn.

The Video Music Award ceremony was originally created as an alternative to the Grammy Awards and presented by MTV in 1984 and honors the best artists in the music video medium. Often called “Oscars for Youth,” the awards show has drawn in millions of viewers in each year, bringing in over record 12.4 million viewers in 2011, according to TV Line.

Student response to having the awards show, known commonly as the VMAs, in the vicinity has been generally positive, especially for avid viewers Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) sophomores Janely Fernandez, FCLC ’15, and Lauren Giangrasso, FCLC ’15.

“It’s great that they’re trying something completely new and different,” Fernandez said. “It actually makes it more exciting for me because they are coming to New York.”

“I actually was recently at Barclays Center for a concert, and it’s a really nice venue,” Giangrasso said.

Sunny Kharera, FCLC ’14, said he agrees, and believes it will legitimize the new arena. “It’ll serve as a sort of commencement for the Barclays Center.”

Although disappointed with the way in which the Barclays Center was constructed by claiming property from the Brooklyn neighborhood via eminent domain, Ally Greco, FCLC ’15, applauds MTV for making the awards show more accessible.

“Taking an awards show out of the crowded streets and to a more spacious venue could definitely allow more fans to access the shows, and prevent traffic amidst normal passers-by,” Greco said.

The last time the awards show was held in New York was in 2009, when Kanye West famously crashed the stage at Radio City Music Hall and told Taylor Swift “Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.”

The proximity of the VMAs has tempted some students to try to camp out to try to meet some of their music idols. “Unlike just about everyone else at Fordham, I’ve never just happened upon any celebrities, so this seems like an appropriate opportunity to change that,” Giangrasso said.

Other students, however, take pleasure from knowing the awards are so close.

“I’d rather enjoy the event from the comfort of my room,” Greco said, “and smile knowing they were only across the river.”