Effective next fall, the various student bodies responsible for event programming on campus will undergo a large restructuring.
Under the current system, the ASWC Programming Committee and the Campus Activities Board (CAB) work independently of each other to host events for students. A few other small organizations also plan campus events independently, including Coffeehouse, the Arts and Crafts Series and Stevens Gallery.
The plan for next year is to merge and incorporate all of these organizations into one body, collectively called the Programming Board, which will centralize the planning and coordination of activities on campus. This new body will be headed by a Program Board Chair, along with a Marketing Manager, a Co-Sponsorship Manager and individual directors for: Cinema Arts, Special Events, Creative Arts, Musical Entertainment, Cultural Events and Lectures. The body will also include a General Board of Volunteers.
There are multiple reasons for the changes. Among them are anticipated budget cuts and the departure of Andrea Ramirez, the current Director of Student Activities, a position that will not be filled next year. With less money and fewer staff members, the decision to combine various programming bodies was made in order to distribute responsibilities more efficiently and cut back on overall cost.
Staying at Whitman into next year will be Leann White, the Assistant Director of Student Activities. White is optimistic about the changes.
“I’m certain that we’ll be able to make it work,” said White. “I have no concerns, I just want to make sure that whoever’s in the chair position is really capable and confident, and has enough programming experience to lead this organization. I think this group can do so much more, and can do higher quality programming, because they’ll be communicating with each other about everything that’s going on.”
According to White, the new structure of programming bureaucracy will be more in line with what other colleges and universities use. Especially at a school as small as Whitman, it may be more effective to do away with multiple programming bodies.
“Most colleges and universities have boards like this. Having two different programming bodies is a fairly unusual way to do it, especially for a school as small as Whitman,” White said. “Realistically, you don’t need separate bodies doing programming if you have less than a couple thousand students.”
During their meeting on Sunday, April 5, the ASWC Senate voted for the new Programming Board Chair position to be an elected one that the student body will decide. Originally, Ramirez and White proposed that the position be determined by a nominations process that students would apply for and then be appointed to.
The creation of a new programming body puts junior Mimi Cook and first-year Stephen Stradley in a unique position. Both campaigned to become the new ASWC Programming Committee chair, but that position will no longer exist. Although the school-wide election for this position was held on Monday, April 6, the results were not announced.
Cook has accepted the uncertainty of her situation.
“I have known throughout my campaign that the chair position in the new structure would be a harder, more demanding job,” said Cook. “ASWC Senate decided to make this an equal chance opportunity by voiding the Monday election and holding a special election. While this provides more competition for Stephen and I, I support this decision because it opens the
race up to people who would like to run for the new Programming Board Chair, and I
believe any student should have that chance.”
Petitions for the Programming Board Chair are due Monday, April 13. The election for this position will take place on Wednesday, April 15 along with the Senate elections.
Also affected by these changes is sophomore Coffeehouse manager Matt Coleman. He believes the restructuring is a positive change, and will try to secure a spot in the new programming administration.
“I think it is great that we will have a dedicated board that will be responsible for the programming on campus instead of many different groups all trying to have events at the same time and predict what Whitman students want,” said Coleman. “Since my position will not exist next year, I am applying to become the Musical Entertainment Director because I think it has so much more potential than Coffeehouse ever did.”
Positions for the Programming Board are by application, due on Monday, April 20.
For more information, visit www.whitman.edu/content/student-activities/pb or contact Ramirez (ramireae) or White (whitele).
