Faced with an overall budget gap of $22,000 — separate from the individual budget for Spring Fling — the Student Association Programming Board is trying to plan events that will cost less without sacrificing entertainment value.
“Even though we’re low on funds, our mission is the same: to make life at Binghamton more fun,” said Aaron Cohn, vice president for programming of the SA. “That’s what we’re all about.”
The SAPB is responsible for putting on major events on campus, as well as a variety of small events throughout the semester, such as lectures, picnics and field days.
Last year, the SAPB hosted Eve 6 and Jon Stewart, and last semester the Board brought Third Eye Blind and Kid Cudi together for the fall concert.
The SAPB started out this school year $22,000 below budget, which Cohn attributed largely to lower-than-expected community attendance at last year’s Jon Stewart event.
“Last year, Jon Stewart sold great with our student body, but we didn’t come close with our public quota — especially since Larry the Cable Guy happened to be in town the same week,” Cohn said.
Cohn said that in order to recover from the deficit, the SAPB would have to watch more carefully how it spends money. He hopes to be able to start off the fall 2010 semester with a neutral budget.
“We’re going to have to be more selective with the shows that we bring and the speakers that we bring,” Cohn said.
He added that unless the SAPB could find an act it was sure would sell out, “we probably don’t have the breathing room to take such a substantial loss that’s inherent with every Events Center show.”
According to Cohn, production costs for Events Center programs, which includes costs of Physical Facilities, staging and event staff, are often in excess of $30,000, even before the cost of the entertainer. He said an Events Center show is probably not likely this semester.
He also said that the SAPB is seeking new forms of income to make up for the deficit, including appealing to alumni and co-sponsoring events with alumni and Late Nite Binghamton.
Cohn said that the turnout for the Jon Stewart show isn’t the only reason for this deficit.
In reviewing old records, the SAPB found that costs from the University and staffing are higher than ever before.
According to Cohn, the financial status of the SAPB will not interfere with the events planned for the spring, such as Spring Fling.
“We think that Spring Fling will be bigger this year than it’s been previous years,” he said. “That budget is our healthiest budget.”
Each individual event has its own budget within the overall SAPB budget, and Spring Fling was unaffected, Cohn said. “Spring Fling really won’t see any difference,” he said.
Cohn and the SAPB have developed close relationships with vendors, and because the SAPB is familiar with the costs of every detail, it hopes to receive more utilities for the same price as in previous years.
Using George Washington University as a model, the SAPB looks to bring in money through sponsors, who supply vendors and prizes, this semester. Drawing in money from sponsors may take the form of banners, sponsor-run informational booths or anything that would generate money for the SA.
Cohn said local and national businesses have “a lot of incentive … to sponsor an event that draws [5,000 to] 6,000 students annually.”
In addition to Spring Fling, Cohn said BU will be seeing a lot more relatively inexpensive social programs throughout the semester, similar to the rave in the Glenn G. Bartle Library.
“You know, things that are cool for the campus and will make the BU experience fun for students,” he said.
The Programming Board thinks students are going to be pleasantly surprised with how much they can do with less this semester.
Sara Parrish, the festival chair of the SAPB, said that nothing will suffer because of its budget.
According to Parrish, the SAPB received discretionary funds from financial council, and budgeted well, so it is in the same position it was in last year at the start of Spring Fling planning.
“It was a little shaky at first, but it will definitely be better than last year,” Parrish said.