The Student Government Association’s Programming Board will be presenting folk-rock singer Gregory Douglass in a free concert tomorrow evening.
Douglass, a veteran performer at the University of Massachusetts, will be playing on the 11th floor of the Campus Center at 8 p.m.
The concert is the Programming Board’s first effort to get more events out to students.
“There used to be a homecoming concert every year, but now much of the attention is just focused on returning UMass alumni,” Chair of the Programming Board Ed Kammerer said. “We’re hoping that this will be able to tie into future homecoming events.”
The Programming Board lies directly under the Secretary of Registrar position occupied by Kammerer, and has previously been noted for allocating funding to Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) for their own events. However, this year the SGA has changed the Programming Board’s position by moving their function of allocating money to the SGA Senate’s Finance Committee. This frees the Programming Board to put on events of their own with a separate budget rather than funding other organizations for their events.
“This campus is so huge and there aren’t enough events that appeal to everyone on this campus,” Kammerer said. “Everyone has their own individual groups of events, but there is not an event that brings the six areas [the five residential areas, and commuter students] together, and we want to change that.”
Kammerer explained the Programming Board’s position as a group independent from the SGA, except that the organization gets its funds from student government.
The Board hopes to present not only tomorrow night’s concert but a series of events for students throughout the year. One idea expressed by Kammerer was a Winter Carnival, something not new to the University.
“I’ve been looking in old yearbooks, and just like Spring Concert used to be held out by the Campus Pond, so did a Winter Carnival,” Kammerer said.
The Winter Carnival would allow other organizations the chance to have a role in the festivities. Kammerer expressed the Programming Board’s idea to have booths available for RSOs, food venders from the community and music, as well as other live performances.
Other ideas were the possibility of a week of UMass Olympics between the residential areas.
“Our main goal is to bring back the spirit of this University,” Kammerer said. “Communication between groups on campus has been lacking. By putting 26 individuals from all areas of campus in a room working and communicating together we will be able to have better communication and events in the future.”
Right now, the Board is made up of acting members SGA President John Sheehan, Secretary of Public Policy and Relations Tom Fleenor and Kammerer. A revised Constitution of the Programming Board will state that the membership be made up of 26 students from university RSOs, Area Governments, SGA members as well as students. The issue is set for discussion at the Wednesday, Oct. 17 SGA Senate meeting.
