By Ame Phitwong
Dwindling interest in some Student Activities-sponsored events has prompted the department to question what type of events should be available to students.
Student Activities experienced a low student turnout for the play "Camelot" on Oct. 2. Of the 100 tickets purchased in advanced, only 30 were sold. Some of those attendees were not UP students.
"That was a strange situation," said Jeromy Koffler, director of Student Activities." Koffler said in previous years students lined up for plays such as "Annie," "Cats," "The Lion King" and "West Side Story."
Sophomore Tiffany Candelaria said she has attended plays in the past and enjoyed them.
"I think it's great they have events, and people should take advantage of that," she said. "It's good they're offering them and providing the means to do the activities."
For all activities sponsored by Student Activities, Koffler said the department prepares a budget one semester ahead.
For example, if a show costs $30 to attend, student activities aims to bring down the admission price to $10 for students. If 100 tickets are purchased, costing $3,000, the budget from ASUP would cover $1,000 as well as transportation, student activities will cover $1,000, and students who purchase tickets would help offset the cost.
With "Camelot," 70 tickets were left unsold, forcing Student Activities to pay for the remainder.
"There's always risk involved with planning these events," Koffler said. "We budgeted a full semester ahead based on 100 tickets in March."
Koffler explained that for "Camelot," Student Activities had taken extensive measures in promoting the event. A suit of armor was rented and placed in The Commons to attract attention, the event was advertised on the tickers in Franz Hall, the Pilot House and The Commons, and the event was noted online in My Announcements.
Junior Tyler Cox said he had heard about "Camelot" but had no desire to attend.
"I think it's good they offer activities but with "Camelot," it was just a poor choice," he said. Cox said that if Student Activities had offered "Spamelot," a Monty Python version of "Camelot," the 100 tickets would have easily been sold.
In events sponsored by Student Activities, ASUP President David Gregg said the ASUP Senate and Executive Board try to circulate the information to the rest of the student body by word of mouth. They also try to give Student Activities suggestions for events.
"I think there's concern in that we want to make sure students are involved as well as having events they enjoy," Gregg said. "For the most part, Student Activities on the whole is pretty successful and a really good number of students show (up for events)."
With regards to the Campus Program Board (CPB) movies, Molly Petschl, CPB director, said she hasn't noticed a decline in attendance to movies.
"Of course, when there are many events going on at once, there are maybe less students, but we have been very pleased with our attendance to movies this year as well as all other events," she said.
In recent events, Student Activities has experienced a lot of students signing up for events, but then cancelling.
For the trip to the Family Fun Center and Bullwinkle's Restaurant in Wilsonville, there were 150 spots available. One hundred sixty-five students signed up, but only 95 students actually attended.
For the Laser Light Show at OMSI on Sept. 28, the same thing occurred. Students had signed up, cancelled, and all the students on the waiting list were able to attend the event.
"I'm not too concerned in general, but I'd like to know if the events we're offering are not attractive to students or if they're not taking it seriously," Koffler said. He hopes to find out what type of events students would want to participate in or attend.
Koffler said students had approached him about offering concerts. He explained Student Activities was unable to fulfill that request because group sales are almost impossible. According to Koffler, the promoters of concerts try to prevent scalping, thus limiting the maximum number of tickets available for purchase to eight tickets per credit card.
With regards to the loss in funds for "Camelot" and low student interest, Koffler will decide whether or not to continue offering musicals or plays to students in the following semesters. If it is decided to continue, he will then reevaluate the number of tickets to purchase.
"I don't want to lose these kinds of events," Koffler said. "It's a great way for Student Activities and student government to show people what it's like in town and to get off campus with their friends."
