Party Planning 101
Concordia Student Union to Spend $270,000 on Orientation
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Throwing a two-week long party for over 30,000 students filled with concerts, speeches (and, of course, beer) doesn’t come cheap. The final budget for this year’s Orientation is due to come in at over a quarter million dollars.
With anticipated revenues of $150,000 from the CSU budget, over $90,000 combined from sponsors and an orientation fund, there will need to be over $30,000 in alcohol sales in order to break even, said Jordan Lindsay, CSU VP Finance.
“Last year, [alcohol sales] made around $30,000, but now we […] have the airPORT [an open-air bar on the Reggie’s terrace], which is going to be pretty much a constant pub that will hopefully fill in demand for students that will not normally go to the particular events where booze is being served, but may want to go for a drink or two between classes,” said Lindsay.
Previous Orientations have been marked by boundless spending and a lack of budgetary foresight—something Lindsay says the CSU was conscious of while planning for this year’s edition. One area in which money was saved was the Orientation concert. While still featuring major headliner Stars among the four booked acts, the concert will cost a total of $80,000, with only $30,000 of that going towards artist fees. The concert will be held on the Loyola Quad for the second year in a row. In previous years, the CSU had either booked a concert venue or set up the stage on Mackay above de Maisonneuve.
“We felt that last year the concert at the Quad went so well, there was no reason to try and hold it downtown,” said Laura Glover, CSU VP Student Life & Sustainability. “I think it’s a great venue, it has a capacity of almost 6,000 people, and I think it’s a really great opportunity to bring the students out to the other campus.”
Not every event that will garner public attention is as expensive as the concert. At least one event will feature a controversial figure from the university’s past, as the CSU is co-hosting a reading by David Bernans of his book North of 9/11 at the Co-op Bookstore. The reading will also mark the launch of the e-book edition of the novel.
Bernans, a former Concordia student, was prevented from giving a reading of the book in 2006, which led to the discovery that he was being monitored by the school’s Risk Assessment Committee. Glover said the event is part of an effort to strengthen ties between the Co-op Bookstore and the CSU, while AJ West, the Orientation director, explained that controversy is normal at the university.
“I think there’s a lot of controversial things that the administration does and the CSU does and students do, and I don’t think that’s ever really stopped anybody from collaborating together significantly over time,”
–AJ West
BoG Representative
“I think there’s a lot of controversial things that the administration does and the CSU does and students do, and I don’t think that’s ever really stopped anybody from collaborating together significantly over time,” said West.
The reading is not alone among the events in having a political bent. Along with a keynote speech featuring Ilona Dougherty of Apathy is Boring and Lou Piensa of rap group Nomadic Massive—who will also be playing at the Orientation concert—the list of events also includes a bicycle tour co-hosted with on-campus activist group The Quebec Public Interest Research Group, as well as the annual Sustainable Food Festival
This article originally appeared in Volume 32, Issue 02, published September 6, 2011.
