Spring Break
A.S. set to re-launch concert-planning board
John Myers
Daily Staff Writer
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The student government body passed an act last year to re-establish a program board, a student-run group committed to providing entertainment and programs for other students, under A.S. supervision, said Alfonso De Alba, A.S. executive director.
"It's like if Congress passed a new law to fund poor children last year, but the appropriations committee hasn't appropriated funds to (that program) yet," De Alba said. "That's the position we are in (with the program board) right now."
De Alba said the act that was passed to create the program board last year did not establish any source of funding. The Associated Students plan to provide funding by factoring the program board into the A.S. budget for the next fiscal year.
The Associated Students scratched the program board during the 1996-97 academic year, De Alba said, when the board of directors felt the money could be used in more beneficial ways.
"The general (student) population complained to us that the program board wasn't doing enough," De Alba said. "So the (Associated Students) made a decision to stop the program board and help the student organizations."
De Alba said the program board had begun to work independently from the Associated Students, even though all of its funding came directly from the Associated Students.
Director of Student Life and Leadership Meredith Moran said the program board had been a large part of the Associated Students up until the time it was eliminated.
"(The program board) was made up of a very large group of students who served in different programming (departments)," Moran said. "They showed films, put on concerts and supported homecoming."
Moran believes the reason that the Associated Students cut the program board was to make A.S. funds more available for students.
"(The Associated Students) wanted to get the money into student hands, because (the student organizations) know best what to deliver (to other students)," Moran said.
The Associated Students of the University of California (at Berkeley) has a similar board, Superb Productions.
"We get money allocated from the (academic) senate," Superb general manager Tasha Matharu said. "We're just like any other student organization, so to get more money, we have to submit a request and the senate reviews it."
The most important thing, Matharu said, is to have a mission statement for the program board.
"If you decide that your one goal is put on one big concert, and then part way through the year, you realize there's not enough money, so you try to do many smaller events, nothing will ever get done," Matharu said. "The main thing is to get a lot of people interested and talking about what they want to see."
Superb Productions will be hosting actor, writer and director Kevin Smith, as well as the Punk Voter concert, featuring bands like NOFX and the Alkaline Trio, among other events this year.
Some students at SJSU said they would like to see more events held on campus, as long as the new programs do not raise student fees.
"I don't have much money, so a raise in tuition would not be good," sophomore business major Lenny Hu said.
Other students said the events already on campus do not serve the students.
"I want to go to the concerts (at the Event Center), but they're too expensive," sophomore chemistry major Quan Ha said.
De Alba said the re-establishment of the program board would be factored into the A.S. budget and would not cause fees to increase.
"This doesn't mean a fee referendum," De Alba said.
