In an effort to fix a reputation damaged by last semester’s disastrous Jay-Z concert, the undergraduate student government will release an survey to all students asking for input about concert planning this week, officials said.
Caleb Wilson, media arts sophomore and executive special events coordinator for the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, said he is working closely with ASUA President Chris Nagata to send the survey, which will likely come as an e-mail, as soon as possible.
The survey is a necessary step to providing better concerts on campus, Wilson said. It will not be too lengthy and will be most effective if a large number of students respond, he added.
“”We want students to come to the shows and see bands they like. Also, we are curious to see if having the Bursar option for purchasing tickets will affect the amount of students who attend,”” Wilson said in reference to a probable survey question. “”This survey is really all about finding out what the students want and like, and giving them a voice.””
Wilson and Nagata said they anticipate the survey will be sent out sometime this week. As of now, they are not absolutely certain how exactly the survey will be distributed.
“”We are still looking into options available to us,”” Wilson said.
Before such a survey could be distributed to a campus-wide listserv it would need to go through a series of approvals, officials said.
“”It’s kind of a convoluted process,”” said John Dill, a University Information Technology Services technical support representative.
The message would need to be approved by ASUA Associate Director Christina Lieberman — who could not be reached for comment by press time — and the Office of the Registrar, said Registrar Beth Acree. Most requests for listserv messages deal with student affairs-related issues like the recent flu epidemic, she said.
Acree said she would need to see a final draft of the survey before giving it her approval, but said it sounded like something she would normally approve.
“”If it’s something that’s either not critical or if I think there’s some more appropriate avenue, I might reject it,”” she said.
Nagata said he believes that the survey will benefit ASUA, adding that this would be the first time a special-events survey has ever been sent out campus-wide.
“”It will keep us in check and help us to provide services that students are interested in,”” Nagata said.
Results from the survey – to be given in a multiple-choice format — will be collated and decisions made will try to reflect the majority opinion, Wilson said.
“”Because ASUA is a student organization we have student interests at the top of our priorities. This survey’s purpose is to get a direct response from students regarding the direction ASUA special events should go in when formulating future events,”” Wilson said.
Would you respond to this survey if it showed up in your e-mail inbox?
“”No. Not at all. I don’t like taking polls, and I’m really not fond of ASUA either.””
— history junior Kate Stogsdill
“”No, because I really don’t care.””
— engineering freshman George Abbott
“”Yeah. I think it’s important to see what students want to see instead of choosing for them.””
— pre-public health freshman Sara Fleegler
“”If (the questions were about) something interesting, I’d respond.””
— mechanical engineering senior Lee Suring