Q&A: University Union president unpacks plans amid programming shifts
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After Syracuse University’s University Union placed Juice Jam on an “indefinite hiatus” on Sept. 9, The Daily Orange sat down with UU President Lachlan Sartison to discuss the status of UU and its future programming.
On Friday, UU will host its inaugural Quad-A-Palooza on the Shaw Quadrangle, with student bands and DJs performing.
The D.O.: When did UU decide it was going to place Juice Jam on a hiatus?
Sartison: All of the money allocated to each of our events is all yielded by the decision of the president before me. I’m basically just left with the budget to work with from there, and then at the end of this year, I’ll be able to work through a budget to leave for the president next year. So with that, in lieu of the budget cuts, it forced us to kind of rework what our programming would look like.
All the information we had was backed by all of the stats with our programming and everything, so we were able to actually get quite a bit of a bigger budget. But that’s delegated to different acts and different events this year. So part of that decision was removing Juice Jam and allocating more money toward our spring concert and Quad-A-Palooza happening this Friday.
The D.O.: What was the motivation behind Juice Jam’s hiatus?
Sartison: A lot was taken into account there. The idea that programming and artist selection and artists; everything’s starting to cost much more money. The university is under financial strain.
As we all know, a lot of RSOs are being impacted by budget cuts and all these things. Luckily, we were able to kind of rework how our events work. It took into account attendance with Block Party and everything under the sun in terms of media engagement to how much more money we could allocate to Block Party from Juice Jam.
There’s a lot of external factors in terms of what happens that’s outside of our control, and then there were a lot of internal factors in that decision-making that I wasn’t necessarily a part of. But (the former UU president) really thought hard about where our money should go, and the meaning behind everything, and I think she did a good job of reflecting that this year.
The D.O.: What would it take for Juice Jam to return next year?
Sartison: This is the first year we’ve done this type of programming before with a larger spring concert. You pretty much gather all the information you can throughout the year, and then you make an executive decision as to what happens at the end of the year. So there’s no real “Juice Jam’s coming back” or not answer. It’s more of “OK, we have the resources allocated to this. Let’s see how it goes.”
After that, we’re gonna look at all of our numbers, see where we did really well, see where improvement can be made, and then you make a decision from there. And then with that decision, yes, it could be bringing back Juice Jam, or it could be allocating funds somewhere else.
There’s no real set answer. I would welcome the opportunity to bring Juice Jam back if we had the right amount of resources that we were able to allocate to make a total experience for the student body.
The D.O.: How does UU’s budget this year compare to last year?
Sartison: I think the biggest thing is just movement, like you see with Juice Jam. We’re not having Juice Jam, but we’re also having a bigger Block Party. We were able to allocate more money toward our Quad-A-Palooza as well.
UU’s programming looks a little different. We were also able to get some more funding toward our performing art shows and that stuff, so we’re able to kind of lean into that scope of things. So it’s an experimental year in terms of our programming, but it’s not experimental in terms of “it’s messy.” We’ve done this before. We’ve been able to pivot with our programming in the past. We know the process and everything, and what needs to happen.
The D.O.: What parts of UU’s programming have been affected by last year’s budget cuts?
Sartison: I think it’s a little too early to tell. Seeing what our events can do this year will really help me make an executive decision next year. You’ve already seen it at our cinema screening. We had a big turnout for that. There’s a lot of engagement and traction, especially with the younger students at Syracuse.
We’re just looking for ways to improve, ways to reflect the student body. That’s the thing every year, how can we bring the student body together? How can we reflect what they want? All of that is taken into account whenever we put on events like this.
The D.O.: What was the most challenging part of rethinking the programming for this year?
Sartison: I wouldn’t even necessarily say challenging. I would say rewarding in a sense as well. The best thing about UU is, yes, we have advisors that are able to guide us on these complex decisions, but at the same time it’s our decision at the end of the day.
There’s always a different route to go. There’s always a different idea to chase. So it’s pretty special to see that happen around here and to facilitate those conversations and get everyone on board surrounding one mission. It’s something that we definitely are happy with so far.
Editor’s note: Some questions and answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
