In an effort to bring an all-campus feel to the annual Sun God Festival, Associate Vice President of A.S. Concerts and Events Alex Bramwell announced plans to fund daytime events at each of UCSD’s six colleges at an open forum held on Feb. 18.
According to Eleanor Roosevelt College Council President Brandon Chirco, although the A.S. Council has been working with the college councils since Fall Quarter, details of the collaboration are still being ironed out.
“It has been brought up to our council at the Council of Chairs meetings, and we are discussing the practicalities of it,” Chirco said. “What we know is that [the A.S. Council] is going to match us up to $500. So basically, if we spend $500, they will give us $500.”
In 2009, A.S. Concerts and Events put on “nooner concerts” — midday performances by less-popular opening bands in Price Center — and other activities throughout campus during the week leading up to the Sun God Festival. However, on the actual day of the festival, all council-funded events and programming took place on RIMAC Field.
According to Bramwell, the A.S. Council hopes that allocating a small fraction of its $550,000 Sun-God budget to the individual colleges may help spread the Sun God Festival to other parts of the campus.
“We are really trying to focus on the event itself on RIMAC Field, but there will be other A.S.-endorsed events, like the Junkyard Derby, which we are excited about,” Bramwell said at the open forum. “There are also going to be college-specific events that A.S. has agreed to subsidize, but not necessarily have their hands in programming.”
Chirco said the “uncaging” could have a positive impact on the festival.
“Honestly, I think it’s a good idea,” he said. “I’d like to see more college-council participation. Obviously, it’s going to need a lot of refinements. It’s the first year since Sun God has been caged that it’s going to be uncaged, so we’re taking baby steps.”
Bramwell also discussed effective wristband distribution methods, in response to student upset over long lines in 2009. Although no final decision has been made on the matter, Bramwell proposed that half of the roughly 16,500 student wristbands be handed out on the Thursday afternoon before the event, and the rest be distributed on the morning of the festival.
Readers can contact Janani Sridharan at [email protected].
