University Union executive board members are expressing excitement about the opportunities that being the official programming board of Syracuse University will bring if the tentative Student Association constitutional amendment is passed.

‘First and foremost, not everything is finalized yet,’ said Dennis Jacobs, UU president. ‘It looks like if passed, UU is going to be recognized as the official programming board of SU, which would be fantastic.’

Jacobs, UU Vice President Wayne Horton and SA President Travis Mason will be meeting later this week to further go over the plan, Jacobs said.

‘We have always felt that we were the official programming board for the university due to our large-scale programming and the amounts of students who come to our events,’ Horton said.

The amendment, if passed, will finally put down on paper what has been true in the hearts of UU members for a long time, Jacobs said.

‘SA is the governing board of the students, and UU has the biggest outreach of SU student groups. It is time for us to work together,’ Horton said.

A main cornerstone of the proposal is annual funding for UU rather than funding for single semesters, Jacobs said.

‘Annual funding will give UU the flexibility to work on a yearly basis. Overall, students will be a lot happier,’ said Clarence Cross, co-director of UU Speakers.

The amendment would also give the student body the opportunity to vote for the UU president. Currently, the UU executive board chooses the president, Horton said.

‘The UU president will be held directly accountable to the students. A lot of the power will rest with the student body,’ Horton said.

Many of the UU executive board members said the proposed amendment is something they have been working for and hoping to see happen for a long time.

They said they hope the student body will vote to approve the amendment. In order to pass, 10 percent of the student body must vote, and a majority of those who vote must approve the amendment, Jacobs said.

Annual funding will give UU the chance to bring bigger name acts to campus, Horton said. In the past, the lack of annual funding has hurt UU’s ability to bring big-name artists, since tours are often scheduled far ahead of time.

‘It will allow us to be in sync with the rest of the entertainment industry,’ Jacobs said.

‘Big-name artists aren’t out of our league.’

‘Annual funding will allow us to bring a diverse group of speakers, comedians and concerts that all students want to see,’ said Elizabeth Knickerbocker, UU co-director of programming.

‘This is exactly what we have been striving for,’ Jacobs said.

Published on November 2, 2005 at 12:00 pm