Though the Student Union Board (SUB) is mostly known for its concerts, the group also wants to provide students with more consistent smaller events this semester, executive director Jackson Herrfeldt said.
“We at SUB are more than just a concert,” Herrfeldt, a senior, said. “I do think the concerts are successful … but we are here for the student body. Everything we do is directed towards the student body. So one of the things we wanted to focus on is finding the smaller low budget events where we just bring free food.”
So far, these smaller events have included recent hot cocoa giveaways, cookie decorating and berry giveaways. A particularly well received event was Cuddles and Cocoa, Herrfeldt said.
“We got some of the rectors’ dogs to come out for Cuddles and Cocoa,” he said. “To see people walk by and realize this was going on and get some free hot chocolate and pet a golden retriever puppy — it makes someone’s day, and that’s what we’re trying to focus on a little bit more.”
One of the most successful SUB events so far this semester was the Quinn XCII concert, which Herrfeldt said received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
“I think our biggest [event this] semester has been the concert that we held Friday night,” he said. “We had over 600 people show up and the maximum capacity was 629.”
Senior Samantha Meehan, a director of programming, said the group is focused on bringing entertaining performances to campus in whatever form that may take.
“The first few weeks of school we had [“Saturday Night Live” cast member] Melissa Villasenor come perform at [Washington] Hall, which was a really great event,” Meehan said. “We got a lot of people out there, and I think that show was a really great opportunity especially to show us go back to our roots, which is comedy. Next year, though, we’re looking at branching a little bit away from that and trying to do different things — whether that be mind-readers or magicians or hypnotists — and trying to bring different shows to campus that are [not] necessarily just comedy.”
Senior Audrey Thellman, program director, said the group is thinking of new ways to expand events.
“Services started out strong when we had Fall Mall — which was the event where you bring Bed Bath and Beyond and a Carpet Depot to campus for incoming first year students, and there is a huge crowd every time,” Thellman said. “… We adhered to students’ needs more, and we planned a poster event for the first week of school rather than just at Fall Mall.”
SUB also hosted a fundraising turkey trot for Fighting Irish Fighting Hunger earlier this semester, and students still have the annual finals stress relievers event — where SUB brings food to campus from different vendors — to look forward to next week, Thellman said. She also said the new SUB Talks are a way to bring speakers on a variety of topics to campus.
SUB designs the wide variety of events they host in the hopes that they will appeal to students of all interests in the student body.
“[We try] to provide for other people who have different interests or targeted interests,” Thellman said. “The person who wants to go to Acousticafe may not be the same person who wants to see improv comedy, so you want to incorporate all parts.”
The Quinn XCII concert was a successful re-establishment of a major SUB event, and the group is also putting on small events for students on a more consistent basis. SUB’s presence might not always be the most noticeable on campus, but it offers a variety of programs.
Grade: A-
