Three of NU’s most prominent student leaders have closed their terms in office with a final accomplishment, gaining university approval for up to $200,000 to bring a big-name act to campus next winter.
Jonathan Webber announced the decision in a letter read during Wednesday’s Associated Student Government meeting, moments before the Weinberg senior’s successor as ASG president was sworn in.
Webber, former A&O Productions chairman Alex White and former ASG Executive Vice President Matthew Bogusz presented the proposal to administrators in February. The University Budget Committee approved funding Monday.
The university as a whole, rather than a specific campus group, will sponsor the event, which Webber said he hopes will be something students remember “for 20 or 30 years.”
“One of the things I’ve noticed in the last four years is that there aren’t a lot of things you look back on and say ‘That’s something I did with a huge, huge number of people at NU,'” Webber said.
In the proposal, Bogusz, White and Webber suggested world-renowned speakers or musical acts they thought would attract thousands of students, including Coldplay, Oprah, U2 or Steve Jobs.
Eugene Sunshine, NU’s senior vice president for business and finance, said the idea “resonated” with the administration.
“It was worth a try to generate this on campus if it can rise to the level of Dillo Day or beating Ohio State or Dance Marathon,” Sunshine said.
Details for how the speaker or musical act will be chosen have not yet been determined, Webber said. The proposal included suggestions, but the administration will be responsible for assembling a committee and ensuring the event occurs.
Administrators should involve students and faculty in choosing an act and venue, Bogusz said.
Webber mentioned the idea last fall to University President Henry Bienen, who recommended Webber write a proposal.
“He was a lot more excited about the concert idea than I expected,” Webber said, laughing.
In the proposal, Webber, White and Bogusz recommended appropriating $150,000 to $250,000 in what they hope will become annual funding for the event,.
The amount allocated for the event is three-quarters of A&O’s annual budget, White said.
“It’s not even on the same playing field as student groups funded by the (Student Activities Finance Board),” he said.
The university has many options to spend money, “and the trick when you’re deciding which things to spend money on is to find the balance,” Sunshine said.
“One of the ways you make a decision is the quality and breadth and imagination of a proposal,” he said.
White sees potential for the annual event to enhance current student programming. For example, if Al Gore were slated to speak, student groups could host events with an environmental theme, he said.
“This is by no means overshadowing the wonderful student programming already at NU,” the SESP senior said. “It’s just in a completely different realm.”
The university is in need of an event that could bring together a large portion of the undergraduate population, especially during the winter months, Bogusz said.
“Campus during the winter is bleak,” the Weinberg junior said. “Programming is very heavy in the fall, and in the spring there’s Dillo Day. In winter there is sort of a lull.”
View the full proposal here.
Emily Glazer contributed to this report.
