Packed Ne-Yo Concert Bites a Chunk Out of SAB Budget
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By Rohma Abbas The Student Activities Board allocated more than $60,000 for a Ne-Yo concert that occurred March 11. The choice of artist was made by an executive board member, Ixchel Frierson, the board’s music committee chair, with support from the rest of the board. The activities board took an informal poll last semester during Midnight Breakfast at the Union, a popular tradition at Stony Brook right before finals week. The poll listed three hip hop and rap artists: Lupe Fiasco, Robin Thicke, and Lil’ Wayne. Ne-Yo was not one of the options. When the time came to choose an artist, none of the artists in the poll were accessible by the board. Lil’ Wayne failed the University Police’s security check and Lupe Fiasco could not perform because of a policy that prohibits artists from performing at two venues in close proximity to one another within a certain time period. Robin Thicke booked a higher paying show for that night. “I had to make a choice for an artist diverse enough,” Frierson said. “At that time, I needed to make the decision on my own. I wanted to get someone to cater to everyone.” Chairman Jackson Georges, however, said the decision was made by the entire board.. “We all decided Ne-Yo last minute. It was either Ne-yo or no concert.” Chairman Georges also said that the executive board received input from various people informally, including the voting board. “The general body seemed to like the idea.” It is unclear what the exact wording of the poll was and how many people participated. Chairman Georges was asked for further clarification of the poll but did not provide any information. According to article II of its previous by-laws, the Student Activities Board was designed to “provide the undergraduate student body of Stony Brook University with a multitude of social, recreational, educational and/or cultural programs and activities,” and is supposed to be a diverse organization in order to fully and properly represent the undergraduate student body. The Ne-Yo concert was advertised to the public on Monday, March 5—six days before show time. A recorded 1,096 tickets were sold out of a total of 1,200, according to Chairman Georges. The tickets cost $15 for students and $30 for everyone else. The board’s estimated budget of $250,000 is currently down to $56,831.43. The concert, which cost $60,053.75, accounted for approximately 24 percent of the Student Activities Board’s budget. Ne-Yo performed for 48 minutes—an estimated cost of $1,000 per minute. “From what I heard, there were mixed reviews,” Cher Armstrong, a Stony Brook student who attended the concert, said. “Some wanted their money back, and others liked it.” Trevor Hirst, the Undergraduate Student Government’s vice president of student life, programming and activities, commented on the Midnight Breakfast poll: “I think it’s good they did a poll, but the results were not made public. I’m taking their word on what the results were.” The board is planning another concert, smaller than the Ne-yo concert in audience and finance. The band Gym Class Heroes will perform on April 15 in SAC Ballroom A. Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for the public. |
Someone i know got some stevie wonder tickets around the same time i decided on going down town drinking a bit then heading to the show at SB.
SAB is doing a great job...
It is worth noting that this was the first major artist on campus in a couple of years and that SAB applied for additional money in the fall to have a concert so most of that $60,000 spent on the concert was allocated to SAB during the fall budget revision process (I know this because I am a member of the Senate Budget Committee and voted on it myself). As far as the costs are concerned, if you do the research, $60,000 to have a major artist as well as include all of the other costs associated with having a concert, you will see that it is not that expensive. The activity fee produces about $2.6 million so $60,000 to put on a major concert for the student body is almost nothing. Additionally, no decision can be made, and no allocations of any money can be made, without the approval of the SAB voting membership so if people are not happy with the artist selected, I suggest they go to the SAB general body meetings and earn their voting rights. The poll was a method of reaching out to the students who do not show up and vote at SAB meetings. Every student has an opportunity to earn their vote by showing up to three consecutive meetings. I can assure you that every member of SAB wants as much student participation as possible. The reason the concert was not advertised and tickets were not sold far in advance is because there was a holdup on the contract on the artist’s end and no advertising or ticket sales can occur without the signed contract. As well as all of this, SAB is, in fact, putting on diverse programming. No one artist will appeal to everybody so SAB is putting on a second concert, Gym Class Heroes, which appeals to a different crowd of people. We have gone from having no concerts to having two in one semester. If you ask me, I think that is outstanding and warrants praise. Criticism is not the way get people to keep up the good work and continue to improve. I was very critical of SAB early in the year as a Senator and not really understanding how SAB worked. Over time I have come to understand how hard these people work and how dedicated they are to what they do. Instead of being critical of every move they make, I strongly encourage participation. Not only will you understand how things work; it will be a good experience to get involved and help put on these great events.
Sincerely,
Senator Antonelli