Offensively known as the "Last Bash Platinum Smash", the ASUA's going away party has lost more money than any other student government endeavour at the U of A, as far as we know.
By now you may have read the AZ Star and Daily Wildcat articles on the $1.4 million concert that only brought in about $500,000:
Here are the highlights:
"All told, ASUA sold 6,100 tickets to the Bash and gave away about 4,400 tickets as part of marketing deals with local radio stations and newspapers [...] Roughly 1,000 tickets were given away to students who demonstrated the ability to sing a Kelly Clarkson song, or passed other tests administered on the UA Mall on the day of the show" (Daily Star).
"Nobody predicted the economy would be the way it is now last May," Bruce said. "The economy was getting worse, but we had already committed to doing a show" (Wildcat).
Keep in mind that the fee for Jay-Z was $750,000, and that this does not include the ammenities requested in his contract. Although Tommy Bruce blames the "economy" for the problem, the contract with Jay-Z was signed in March, long after the budget crisis was in full swing. Excuses, excuses. Bruce poses that this was all a learning experience. We here at Sallygradstudent learned that you can request to be exempted from ASA fees by applying at the ASA office in the Student Union so you can prevent more of your money from going to these schemes.
How is the university supposed to convince the state government that we need funding when our elected representatives to ASUA blow almost a million dollars in one night? This is a PR nightmare and while Tommy Bruce and many other ASUA members will be graduating and leaving next week, the rest of us are left to pick up the tab.
Some have suggested that the ASUA members be required to pay the money back before leaving, just like you can't graduate if you haven't paid your library fees. Others think that the advisors of the group (real grown-ups) should be held accountable for allowing such financially risky behavior in an economic crisis. Think someone should be called out to answer for this? Contact Pres. Shelton: robert.shelton@arizona.edu or better yet, call the ASUA office and give them a piece of your mind: PH: (520) 621-ASUA (2782), or an e-mail will do: asua@web.asua.arizona.edu.
When you're done with that, join this facebook group:
Boycott ASUA -- $1 Million Lost
(the picture on the right is from the facebook cite)
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