After choosing not to produce a concert this quarter, members of A&O Productions will petition the Student Activities Finance Board tonight to use the money for a second spring event, A&O Sen. Neil Shah said.
The group did not plan a winter concert because bands touring in the area this quarter are low-profile and might not have attracted large crowds of students, Shah said. A&O Financial Director Nit Wadhwani said the group did not want to use its allotted $61,000 to pay a little-known band more than they were worth.
“If we brought a band that was $40,000 and we didn’t use $21,000, then that would be a waste of the students’ money,” said Wadhwani, a Weinberg senior.
The petition, which SAFB will vote on tonight, asks SAFB to roll over $98,000 that was given to A&O last spring to produce a winter concert. Of the total, $61,000 is to pay the band and $37,000 is for production costs, Shah said. The additional concert, scheduled for mid-April, would be in addition to the A&O Ball in May.
Associated Student Government Financial Vice President Carson Kuo said unused funds from a winter concert would have gone back into supplemental funding for student groups.
But Shah said rolling over the funds still would be a better use of A&O’s money.
“None of these bands would have been worthwhile to bring to campus,” said Shah, a Weinberg senior.
A&O requested money for three concerts in the spring, but SAFB told the group it could receive funding for two events, said Kuo, an Education senior. A&O chose winter and spring quarters, eliminating the possibility for a fall concert.
Kuo said it is not unusual for a student group to request a rollover of funds. If SAFB does not approve the request, A&O’s winter concert money will be added into supplemental funding for student groups next year, Kuo said.
But A&O’s request also could decrease the group’s chances of receiving money during Spring Funding this year.
“It can reflect poorly on the funding process,” said Kuo, an Education senior. “This is something we take into consideration when we make recommendations.”
Still, Wadhwani said he is confident that the rollover will be approved because the group is about to secure a contract for a spring concert.
Shah said the group will announce the spring concert artist at tonight’s meeting. Securing a contract for a spring concert could motivate SAFB to roll over the funds, Kuo said.
The 200 students who bought an A&O Advantage Card might be upset about the lack of concerts during fall and winter, Wadhwani said. The card allows free access to all A&O events. But Shah said the spring concert will compensate for both quarters.
“Spring Quarter for A&O will blow everyone out of the water,” Shah said.
