Monday, August 24, 2009
Student Union Activities is gearing up for another semester of entertainment, hoping to draw more students with smaller costs and bigger shows, according to a spokeswoman.
Emily Gairns, vice-president, said SUA was making efficiency its motto by producing bigger and better events to attract more students at once. She said the organization would be ditching the frequent, smaller activities that drained the budget in the past.
Gairns said this move was meant to counter the sagging economy and benefit both SUA and students, whose fees help fund the events.
Karisma Taylor shimmies to "Jai Ho," the theme song composed by A. R. Rahman for the award-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire" at Brown Bag Drag last Friday. The performance was part of SU and KJHK's Tunes at Noon and celebrated the end of Pride Week. This year, SUA organizers plan to cut back on some programs.
“We’re trying to see how we can make the biggest impact with bigger events,” she said. “Obviously, there’s a big focus on keeping the costs as low as possible for students.”
Gairns said favorite shows of the past were already secured on the calendar with big names attached. Korto Momolu, the second-place winner of the fifth season of Bravo’s TV show “Project Runway,” will host the KU version of “Project Runway” on Nov. 10. Marcus Hollinger, SUA’s cultural arts assistant coordinator, said he thought the big event for this fall would be “Project Runway,” thanks to the effort he and his team had dedicated to the show.
“Me and my coordinator have pretty big ambitions, and we’re putting a lot into it,” he said.
Gairns said another student favorite, the third-annual carnival, is scheduled for Aug. 29. For Homecoming Day on Oct. 1, SUA invited Girl Talk as a musical guest. In October, SUA will host a comedy show with The Blanks — better known as Ted’s Band from “Scrubs”— and comedian Kristen Schaal— better known as Mel from the HBO series “The Flight of the Conchords.”
SUA also has an extensive movie lineup for most Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, according to the SUA Web site. Some films include “The Hangover,” “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and “Up.” Jessica Shuler, Jetmore sophomore, saw “Tropic Thunder” and “Twilight” last year, and said the experience was worth it.
“I think it’s a really good thing to be a part of, especially with the costs of movies right now,” she said.
SUA added a new committee to the table, as well. It is called the Spirit Committee. This committee facilitates activities for sports fans and school spirit. It also administers Hawk Zone, a new student-led cheering section for football games.
SUA now consists of seven committees now: Cultural Arts, Films and Media, Games, Live Music, Social Issues, Special Events and Spirit, according to its Web site, www.suaevents.com
— — Edited by Brenna M. T. Daldorph
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