By Roderick Macioch
News Assistant
During its weekly meeting on Wednesday, April 13, the Student Finance Board (SFB) allocated funds for several upcoming events, ranging from live shows to cultural celebrations.
The first student organization to present a proposal, The Society for Creative Endeavors (TSCE), proposed funding for “Mythology and Meaning: Knights and Dragons,” to be presented by actor and mythology scholar Crispin Freeman. According to TSCE’s request form, Freeman “not only provides the voices for animation and game characters, but also does a variety of presentations on how myths and mythology appear in pop culture, what they mean and how they influence us.”
When the time came to vote, the $7,186 requested for Freeman’s travel expenses and appearance fee was denied, and the event was zero funded. Reasons cited were the unreasonably high price and the redundancy of the event, as Freeman had given a similar presentation at the College in Spring 2014.
Representatives of Chabad proposed their plan for the organization’s celebration of Israeli Independence Day. The event will be co-sponsored by Alpha Epsilon Pi and Hillel, and as stated in Chabad’s request form, is intended “to celebrate and educate the campus community about Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day commemorating the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948.” Thus, the event “provides students with the opportunity to learn about Israel’s history and culture, as well as provide an outlet to celebrate this joyous event,” according to the form.
The board voted to fully fund the event in the amount of $2,068.45 to cover expenses such as food, decorations and live Israeli music.
The event will take place on Wednesday, May 4, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Decker Social Space.
Members of the freshman class council then proposed Freshman Farewell Fest, co-sponsored by Residential Education. The event will feature “an outdoor concert showcasing freshman talent. Simultaneously, (freshman class council) will have activities and games to play inside the (T/W Lounge). The concert will be followed by an outdoor movie screening,” according to the request form. Overall, the event will be “an opportunity for students to de-stress before finals and have fun with the friends they’ve made this year. This is a culmination of the Class of 2019’s first year,” according to the form.
When the time came to vote, $5,345 was granted, which will pay for various arcade games, such as air hockey, pinball, basketball and a football toss; a WTSR disk jockey; an inflatable movie screen and screening rights to the movie “Neighbors.”
The event is scheduled for Wednesday, May 4, from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. in the T/W Lounge and on the lawn in front of the towers.
One of the College’s a cappella groups, iTunes, then requested funding for its spring concert, which will serve as a showcase for iTunes to perform songs it has been rehearsing throughout the semester.
“The concert benefits the student body because they can come listen to diverse music from around the world arranged in an a cappella style,” iTunes stated in its request form.
Funding in the amount of $541 was granted to pay for ushers, student staff and Mayo Concert Hall fees. The event will take place on Saturday, May 7, in Mayo Concert Hall, at an unannounced time.
The College Union Board (CUB) requested funding for its comedy show extension of Funival 2016. Funival, which has already earned Student Activity Fee funding, traditionally features what CUB calls an “additional feature,” such as fireworks or guest appearances. This year that additional feature will be an appearance by Jake and Amir. According to the request form, “Jake and Amir are a comedic duo that formed during the peak of the CollegeHumor Web series, and to this day hold the title of longest running series for the platform. Since, they have had a featured show on TBS, currently host a popular podcast and have premiered a new online web series.”
The board voted to grant CUB’s request in the amount of $9,945.
Funival is scheduled for Friday, May 6. Jake and Amir’s performance is expected to begin at about 8 p.m. that evening and will be held in Lot 6.
The final order of business was the proposal of the Loop Bus mobile application, sponsored by Student Government (SG) and developed by the Computer Science Department and the Office of Engagement.
The app would “make the Loop Bus schedule more accessible and user-friendly,” according to SG representative Tyler Holzer, a sophomore finance and international studies double major who presented the proposal. Evidence for interest in the app had been demonstrated in a campus survey email, in which 95 percent of the 250 respondents “reported that they would access the Loop Bus schedule ‘via mobile app’ if it were available,” Holzer said.
In all, $1,000 was requested to fund the development of the app. The board voted to table the proposal after reaching a consensus that a website would probably be more accessible to students and easier to develop than an app, and therefore a wiser investment. Funding for the development of a website will be proposed by SG in an upcoming meeting.
*Even though SFB agrees to finance certain events, there is no guarantee these events will take place. The approval only makes the funds available.
