Following the conclusion of Fall Fest 2001 on Friday, Sept. 14, the Student Association will launch "Exposure" - the first of the "SA Bar Series," scheduled to take place the second Friday of every month at the Coliseum Complex.
Exposure, featuring DJs Lo Pro, Shaun Touch, Maggadon and Pablo, will take place from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. on the second, third and forth floors of the Coliseum, located on the corner of Franklin and Chippewa Streets.
SA Treasurer Naazli Ahmed hopes Exposure will draw enough people to reach the Coliseum's 2000-person capacity and said the DJs were chosen because of they were "recognizable" names on campus.
"[The bar parties] are a chance for students to go out to one party and have fun together," said SA Vice President Joshua Korman.
However, not all constituents of the undergraduate student government will be able to attend the evening of music and mixed drinks. After consulting with independent legal advisors, SA decided to restrict the bar series solely to students who are 21 years old and over, rendering less than one-fourth of the undergraduate student body able to participate the events.
Stephen Hessel, a junior English major, disagreed with the idea of his student fees going toward an event which he will not be able to attend.
"It's unfair," said Hessel. "I would like to see these DJs too, but I can't because I am not of age."
Ahmed, who described the series as "extremely cost effective" explained that the $2 cover charge for UB students and the $5 cover charge for the general public should cover the entire cost of the event. Additional profits obtained through the bar series will be funneled into activities that all students may participate in.
"[SA Bar Series] money will go toward other programming we are planning this semester," said Ahmed.
Eric Scott, an environmental science major, suggested an alternative to the bar series so that students of both legal and non-legal age may see the DJs spin.
"I think our money would be better spent on having the DJs come to a barbecue where there's a beer tent for students 21 and over but also food for student's who aren't," said Scott.
As the bar series will be held the second Friday of every month for the duration of the semester, Ahmed addressed concerns that the series will interfere with other clubs' functions. She explained that the series caters to students already going to the bars and that most major club events, such as semi-formals, are held on Saturdays.
"The clubs work really hard to and want to promote their events," she said. "People will go to a club's event before they would go to our event."
SA is currently seeking larger-scale DJs from the New York City nightclub circuit to hire for the bar series, such as world-renowned artist Funk Master Flex. In the event a big-name act were to perform at the bar series, Ahmed said SA would consider negotiating with the Coliseum or another venue to allow students 18 and over to participate.
"If we do it responsibly, I think [the bar series] will show a different facet to SA, bring bigger-named DJs and have a lot of fun," she said.
Amanda Mangione, a junior education major, said that if the SA Bar Series becomes a tradition for future student governments, students who are presently underage will have a chance to get involved in the events.
"I personally don't care," said Mangione, who will be celebrating her twenty-first birthday at the end of the semester. "The freshmen will eventually be twenty-one and will be able to reap the benefits."
For the students' personal safety, SA will provide bus transportation to and from the Coliseum to locations on both North and South campuses. SA funds will not be used to purchase alcohol for students and it will be the sole responsibility of Coliseum staff to check for proper identification.
"The bouncers could do a better job of checking ID than we could," said Ahmed.
