Student Association President Anthony Burgio recently disclosed SA Entertainment's DJ Series, an event popular with UB students, would not be continued this spring semester.
Burgio said the decision to put the series on hold is not definite, but given the amount of time left in the semester and SA's current focus on Spring Fest, it's unlikely there will be another DJ Series event this semester.
"A DJ Series event is like any other type of small concert or bringing in a comedian. You'll have the event when the opportunity presents itself, when it'll be popular, and not when you'll end up having 600 people standing outside in the freezing cold," Burgio said. "We will hold a DJ Series event when we know that it'll be successful, that we're getting a good deal with a DJ, and when it'll go over well with the student body. In the meantime, we're going to continue bringing in comedians and small concerts and working on Spring Fest."
In addition to SA focusing mainly on Spring Fest, Burgio said the money originally set aside for the DJ Series events would most likely go towards the annual spring concert.
"The DJ Series events always broke even, and if they didn't, it was only by about $1000," Burgio said. "The money in the DJ Series line will most likely go towards funding Spring Fest. If not, the extra money will go to club budgets or to build up our reserves. Really, the money will go wherever our financial committee sees fit."
The last DJ Series event was held in October and attended by many UB students as well as local club-goers. The elimination of theses events will affect both groups.
Tiffany Robertson, freshman biology major, said eliminating the DJ Series events isn't a smart move for SA.
"It's a bad idea to stop doing the (DJ Series) club nights," Robertson said. "People aren't going to want to get involved with SA's other events. I wouldn't go to their events, I prefer to go to their dances."
Sarah Goldberg, a freshman exercise science major, agreed with Robertson and said not having these events will hurt the student body.
"It stinks that they probably won't do the DJ Series again this semester," Goldberg said. "The students here seem to really enjoy going to the Sphere, hanging out with other UB students, and getting into Sphere for a lot cheaper than they normally would. Plus, these events really seem to bring more unity to the student body and bring everybody together."
Kerrigan Muench, on the other hand, said that he wouldn't miss the SA-sponsored club nights.
"I've gone to the events, but they were really nothing special," said Muench, a sophomore business administration major. "They tended to play nothing but hip-hop, and I prefer a variety of music. I'd get to dance to a better variety of music by going to the Sphere when SA isn't there."
These events, which proved to be popular with students, were traditionally held at the Sphere. Burgio said if SA does sponsor another one of these events, it will not take place in the downtown venue.
"In October, I decided that I didn't want to do business with the Sphere on an SA level. In January, shortly after New Year's, I decided to extend that policy to the clubs, so no SA clubs or organizations can have parties there or do business with the Sphere," Bugrio said. "Our policy now is that none of our Activity Fee money will be spent at the Sphere."
Burgio said the recent violence was not the primary reason for discontinuing SA's business with the Sphere, but it did factor into the decision.
"There are a slew of other reasons why we're not doing business with them," Burgio said. "If you know that some place like the Sphere has a history of problems or is run improperly, we need to stay away from it, especially since we're primarily a student organization. We want to show students a good time, we don't want to put them in a potentially litigious or violent situation. Right now, though, it's a liability for us to hold events in that venue."
