University Union President Rob Dekker discussed the processes involved in scheduling concerts like Rock the Dome with members of the Student Association on Monday during the SA meeting held at 7:30 p.m. in the Life Sciences Complex.

SA President Dylan Lustig said he felt bringing in Dekker was necessary because of how closely the organizations work with each other. He also wanted the general assembly to have a clear understanding of how events are programmed.

‘Not everyone in the assembly knows exactly what he does, what UU does and how they go about doing it,’ said Lustig in an interview after the meeting.

In his presentation, Dekker discussed how UU first secures funding from SA and the venue where the event will be held. Next, possible dates are evaluated by taking basketball games, national holidays and competing internal and external events into account.

UU then sends all Syracuse University students a survey, which allows them to rank their preferences of music genres and voice their opinion about the artists the organization should pursue, Dekker said.

Roughly 3,500 students filled out the survey for Rock the Dome, and genres such as dance electronic, rap and hip-hop, pop and rock were highly favored by students, Dekker said. Artists such as LMFAO, Rusko, Bruno Mars and Pitbull received many votes.

UU reviews the results of the survey and contacts the artists who received the greatest student response.

But oftentimes, artists have other commitments and UU has limited resources to bring them to SU. Dekker said UU is restrained by costs and the availability of the artist, depending on when UU has the venue.

Dekker said artists are generally sorted into six categories by their popularity and cost. Category one includes artists such as Jay-Z and Lady Gaga, but these acts are currently out of UU’s price range. Category one artists usually demand an advance before the show, which is something against policy because of the risk it incurs.

Ludacris and Rick Ross were considered to be in category four, Dekker said. UU usually brings acts to campus that rank in categories three through six.

‘If you want to bring someone like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, they would cost as much as Block Party and Juice Jam, as much as one of those concerts in its entirety just for the stage before the artist gets there,’ Dekker said.

While the final ticket number is pending, an estimated 6,500 student tickets were sold for Rock the Dome — comparable to Juice Jam and Block Party last year, Dekker said.

‘We thought for a new February show on a Thursday night during girls’ rush, we thought that was a success,’ he said.

However, Dekker said, because the price of student tickets are subsidized to make them more affordable, the concert will ultimately result in UU not making a profit on the show.

This is something SA may investigate further.

‘We’re going to be waiting for Rob to hear what the final numbers are, and we surely want to take that into account moving forward into the future,’ said SA Comptroller Stephen DeSalvo in an interview after the meeting.

Later in the meeting, Osarumwense Pat-Osagie, a sophomore finance and entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises major, and Denny McMahon, a sophomore finance and accounting major, ran for positions on the general assembly. Both were elected after a brief discussion by the representatives.

Membership is down 40 percent from November, when SA was at full capacity, said Vice President Allie Curtis during her weekly report. She discussed plans for a recruitment video and urged members to discuss the open positions to friends and on social media.

Other business discussed:

• Daniela López Acosta ran for a position on University Senate and was elected by the general assembly.

• A resolution was passed taking a stance against all forms of domestic violence, abuse and sexual assault to show solidarity for the Vera House White Ribbon Campaign.

• A bill was introduced forbidding organizations that have already received funding for events to apply for more money from special programming funds. The general assembly will vote on the bill next meeting.

• Lynde Folsom, a member of the Judicial Review Board, said three representatives were removed from their positions because of their lack of dedication to SA and a failure to attend their judicial hearing. Another member resigned due to conflicting commitments. The member expressed interest in taking a leave of absence, but his or her reasoning was determined to be insufficient. The names of the four members were not disclosed.

dmsegelb@syr.edu 

Published on February 13, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Dylan: dmsegelb@syr.edu | @dylan_segelbaum