Students in "metal" article did not contact Program Board

submitted by Crystal Dillard

February 19, 2007 —

The article "Metal Acts Coming to Campus" is written under false pretenses. Having served as a member of Program Board for three years, this article upset me greatly.

While currently serving as the president of Program Board and serving last year as the programming chair, I have never met these two students or heard of their idea for a heavy metal concert. The article implies the Program Board does not care about the interests of students, which is completely untrue.

Program Board exists on our campus for the sole reason of providing students with entertainment, no matter the genre. We welcome all ideas and regularly assist with student initiatives, whether we provide financial aid, manpower, advertising assistance, or just help in bringing programming ideas to fruition.

In the past year, we have provided assistance to every student organization that has approached us with programming ideas. It was our pleasure to do so. The article makes it seem as though Doug Julian and Kenn Frank approached the Program Board this year and asked for our assistance. I can assure you this is untrue.

After conducting some research on MySpace, I discovered several forums with posts about this issue last year. For people unfamiliar with the organization, Program Board changes leadership almost every year. Just because the last president did not stay in touch with you does not mean that this president would do the same. From the moment I became Program Board president, my philosophy has been to give the students what they want.

If two students had indeed approached the Program Board requesting a metal concert, I would be interested to see how the student community would react. When approaching the Board with a request such as this, it is often beneficial for students to be affiliated with a registered student organization, although it is not a requirement.

Student input is an integral part of our program, which allows our programming to be not only diverse, but also to cater to the desires of the student body. We afford all students the opportunity to present their ideas to the group, which is why we regularly collaborate with student organizations. Our organization strives to provide a wide variety of entertainment to campus, and most importantly, represent the interests of students.

The more students that are involved with the process, the more successful an event has the potential to be. Anyone with fresh and creative ideas is encouraged to bring them to one of our meetings Monday nights at 10 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room. I look forward to seeing you there!

Crystal Dillard
Program Board president