LETTER TO THE EDITOR BY DILLON LEEMAN

As the Vice President of Student Entertainment (VPSE) and former Assistant VPSE of University of Maine Student Government, I am naturally proud of the events we have done over the past two years. Whether it’s the free movie ticket Wednesdays at Black Bear Cinemas, the comedians and musicians hosted at the Collins Center for the Arts, food trucks and much more, I believe that I and everyone who has worked on putting these events together have a genuine passion for your entertainment. That is to say, we have and will continue putting our hearts and souls into guaranteeing that this student body is satisfied with UMSG-sponsored events. However, we need a student activity fee raise for Student Entertainment to serve the students the way I believe the students should be treated. 

This year, Student Entertainment has faced a lot of adversity with budget constraints. In the case of movie tickets, we might not be able to make it to the end of the year. This comes as a shock, as the amount of money originally allotted towards buying tickets has increased every year, yet so has demand. This increased demand is a trend we are happy to see, but it also means that we have gone through tickets at an unsustainable rate. Additionally, this year, food trucks had to be stricken from our budget as they too have become unsustainable. Again, UMSG is ecstatic to see this level of engagement from students. We are just unable to provide the services we once did with the current budget size. This leads me to my main point of discussion: comedians and musicians. 

On April 11 at 8 p.m., UMSG will be hosting Ricky Montgomery and the Oshima Brothers at the Collins Center for the Arts. Since I have been in Student Entertainment,  we have also hosted Trevor Wallace, Sammy Rae and the Friends with Midnight Breakfast, and Joe Gatto. While these shows have been well received, I can also understand student frustration. I have heard from multiple students statements like, “I want a show like Jack Harlow,” or “We should get Noah Kahan or Theo Von.” These artists are well out of our current price range, yet the point still stands. There is a glaring discrepancy between shows of the past and the shows of today. The problem is, however, that your participation and the price of entertainment have simply gone up while our budget has relatively stayed the same. No one is at fault for these facts, yet there are things you can do to help get Student Entertainment to where you want to see it, and where it deserves to be.

Let me be clear, even without a student activity fee raise I will continue to put my heart and soul into Student Entertainment, but there will be huge cuts. Without a budget increase next year, we will have to downsize to one show and cut back on the increasingly popular movie tickets, and food trucks and other Student Entertainment events will become a thing of the past. This is not to scare you but to keep you informed as to what will happen with less money going towards your entertainment. As you think about the things you want to see from Student Entertainment, think about the actions you can take to see those changes.