Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Vol. CLIV, Issue 6
Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

ASWC programming committee reveals strategies

by Baron Haber
STAFF WRITER

ASWC Student Programming, a primary source of entertainment and cultural interaction for Whitman’s isolated students, is selected at Whitman primarily by individuals, not by democratic process. This raises the question: Are students getting what they paid for?

ASWC’s Programming Committee is composed of elected senators and three hired programming chairs: the public events chair, the public speakers chair and the ASWC film chair. Headed by the student-elected programming chair, it brings more activities, speakers and concerts to campus than any other body with money from the annual ASWC fee required of all students.

The Programming Committee is only responsible for three annual events: Interim, Renfaire and the Choral Contest. The rest of the speakers, concerts, performances and films are brought in by the programming chairs. These chairs are responsible for selecting events according to their own judgment.

The ASWC hiring site (whitman.edu/aswc/government/hiring/programming) lists, among other responsibilities, a duty to work with clubs and other student organizations when selecting and scheduling events and to “evaluate and follow-up on requests from student groups regarding specific performers.”

The current film chair, Josh Boris, feels a responsibility for the movies he selects to reflect student tastes, but he acknowledged that it is his decision ultimately. “I do take input from students (at the activities fair) and other members of the Programming Committee,” Boris said in an e-mail. “I also try to co-sponsor with other groups (I brought ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ with Campus Climate Challenge and the Sociology and Environmental Studies Departments), but ultimately the final decision is mine.”

So what is the thought process that goes into such decisions? “Pretty much the only questions I ask are 1) how much will it cost and 2) will people come?” Boris said. “It’s pretty tricky setting up films and screening days because Whitman students are inundated with opportunities to experience all sorts of artistic, cultural and educational programming, not to mention a large amount of homework, so sometimes it’s just a crapshoot whether students will be able to come at a certain time or date.”

Beyond the question of when to schedule events is the more challenging task of selecting exactly what sort of events would appeal to such a diverse and opinionated community as Whitman harbors. “My goal is to get films that have come out in the last couple years that students might have heard about and flagged as an interesting film but for some reason or another didn’t go to. Every so often I also throw in a classic film (like ‘The Shining’ for Halloween last semester),” said Boris.

This semester’s movie calendar has yet to be drawn up, but Boris already has some movies in mind. “Some of the films on my short list are ‘A Scanner Darkly,’ ‘Who Killed the Electric Car,’ ‘Why We Fight,’ ‘Cache,’ ‘Thumbsucker,’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain.'”

But are these the films students want their ASWC fees paying for? “I think that there’s a very wide range of interests expressed by the Whitman community, so obviously you can’t please everyone at the same time,” Boris admitted. “I guess the only thing I can say is that I try my best to sound out what kind of films the student body is interested in and then hope for the best.”

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    Ian BeckFeb 19, 2007 at 4:45 am

    This is the most interesting story I have ever read. I will treasure it always.

    Did I mention that I know Ajay Abraham personally?

    Reply