Clarence Cross III

President

Former Director of Speakers

As president, Cross oversees the board of directors and is responsible for much of the public face of University Union.

‘My job is to make sure nothing blows up,’ he said.

A senior broadcast journalism and marketing major, he uses skills from both disciplines to deal with clients and to raise awareness of UU’s activities among students on campus.

‘I try to get from point A to point C,’ he said. ‘Those under me take care of B.’

One of Cross’ goals is for UU to become Syracuse University’s official programming board, which he said would increase its funding and establish its authority with clients, both of which would bring more and better shows to the students.

‘I see things coming that most people wouldn’t,’ Cross said.

He foresaw Thursday’s Al Gore event getting the attention it has.

‘After ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ came out, I said, ‘This is going to be a huge lecture,” he said.

Cross has been in UU since he was a freshman. He served on the board of directors as a sophomore in UU Cinemas and in UU Speakers last year. He is also a resident advisor in

Dellplain Hall.

‘If you’re with Clarence, every person that walks by most likely knows him,’ said Sommer Smith, UU’s director of operations. ‘It’s so amazing that he has that effect on people when they remember him and liked him enough to say hi.’

Jaimie Stevens

Vice President

Former Comedy Board member

‘I do pretty much what the president wants me to do,’ Stevens said. ‘My job is to keep everything organized and running smoothly.’

If one branch of UU needs help with something, she is the one who makes sure everybody knows about it, she said.

Stevens is a sophomore double-majoring in television, radio and film and Spanish languages, literature and cultures. She balances being an assembly member in the Student Association on the university affairs committee, working at CitrusTV and being on the homecoming committee.

Most of her friends, she said, would say that deep down, she’s a big dork.

‘My biggest thing is organization,’ Stevens said. ‘I’m really good at staying on top of things.’

Sommer Smith

Director of Operations

New to UU

‘Jaimie is Clarence’s right hand, I’m his left,’ Smith said.

As director of operations, she is effectively the chief of staff; she controls the budget and oversees the boards to keep everybody doing what they’re supposed to.

‘I run UU like a business,’ Sommer said. ‘I am very anal about organization and about things being on time.’

Sommer applied to UU because Cross, who was her RA last year, said she’d be good at the job after seeing everything in her room was labeled.

Adam Scharfberg

Co-Director, Speakers

Returning Co-Director, Speakers

Scharfberg, a junior in marketing, described his job as first the process of finding a speaker and then dealing with agents and contracts.

‘My goal is to bring speakers that have a message,’ he said.

Scharfberg tries to cater to the diversity of the SU campus, he said, rather than just sponsoring speakers he and his friends would like.

‘Adam is very passionate and devoted to his work,’ said Rachel Grant, co-director of speakers. ‘Devotion is a quality that you have to have in anything you’re involved in so that it comes out well.’

Rachel Grant

Co-Director, Speakers

New to UU

Grant, a senior broadcast journalism and communication and rhetorical studies major, is new to UU, but did work with UU Speakers through the WellsLink Program last semester.

‘We want to have a speaker that has high moral standards, someone that’s going to obviously entertain and someone that’s going to make (the audience) think,’ Grant said.

Al Gore, for example, will help make students more conscious of their environment, she said.

‘My friends will tell you that at the end of the day, I keep it real and tell it bluntly like it is,’ Grant said.

Laura Turner Garrison

Co-Director, Comedy

Returning position

Garrison, in addition to organizing UU-sponsored acts, is also a member of Zamboni Revolution, an improv comedy group.

‘We want to find a medium ground between acts that are popular and people who are newer,’ she said.

The goal is also to bring different types of comedians to appeal to the diverse groups on campus, Garrison said.

‘She’ll say she’s organized, but she’ll have stuff everywhere and she’ll pull it off somehow,’ said Nate Buniva, co-director of comedy. ‘But on the other hand, sometimes I need to be taking things more seriously and she’ll get on me about it.’

Nate Buniva

Co-Director, Comedy

Returning position

‘I make the calls,’ Buniva said. ‘I’m normally the one dealing with the contracts and the agents … and keeping Laura (Garrison) in line,’ he joked.

Negotiating contracts involves a lot of politics, said Buniva, a junior political science major.

‘For the most part, it’s a seller’s market,’ he said. ‘So there’s a lot of haggling over price.’

When Horatio Sans came, he wanted more water, and Buniva had to run to Marshall Street to buy it.

‘I missed the show,’ Buniva said. ‘Later I realized I could have just refilled their same bottles.’

Matt Fastow

General Manager WERW

Co-Director, Comedy

‘As G.M., I have to overlook all the operations and make sure everything is running all right and under control,’ Fastow said.

As for WERW’s programming, he said he tries to keep it unique, especially in the indie rock and underground hip-hop genres.

‘One of our jobs is to stay informed on the music that is coming out that’s new but doesn’t get the same promotion or attention as bands on the top 40 radio stations,’ Fastow said.

Emi Horikawa

Co-Director, Concerts

Former Co-President of Bandersnatch

‘My job is to promote and foster the music on campus in both the mainstream and independent scenes,’ Horikawa said.

While Horikawa, a senior music industry major, said her personal music tastes tend towards the independent scene, she wants to bring music that people will like, and not just cater to those who like rock.

Horikawa said the music scene at SU has faded since the days of the Jabberwocky in the 1970s.

‘We really wanted to create a music community on campus,’ she said. ‘We like to think that we’ve brought back the music scene.’

Ryan Raichilson

Co-Director, Concerts

Former Co-President of Bandersnatch

Raichilson, a senior accounting and marketing major, described his job as simply bringing the music to Syracuse.

‘What’s just as important as putting on good shows is getting kids involved,’ he said.

Horikawa and Raichilson have been working together for four years now, and they complement each other.

‘I’m the funny one,’ he said. ‘I’m kind of the comic relief. What we do is important; we deal with important people, but I like to have fun with it.’

Sterling Proffer

Asst. Director, Concerts/President of Bandersnatch

Former Co-President of Bandersnatch

Proffer, a junior who plays guitar and sings in an indie rock band, is also in charge of bringing that type of music to campus.

‘I’m here to learn the processes of what’s happening and help them the best I can,’ he said. ‘There’s so much that goes into a show; there are so many moving parts.’

Bandersnatch is a subset of UU concerts and deals mostly with indie groups or up-and-coming mainstream bands, Proffer said.

‘A lot of people in the music industry are very shrewd,’ Proffer said. ‘If you can’t play hardball, then you’re going to get walked on and taken advantage of.’

Don Desawade

Co-Director, Cinemas

New to UU

As UU Cinemas co-director, Desawade is responsible for getting contracts for films, booking venues and actually screening the movies.

‘We want to make sure it’s a good movie first,’ he said. ‘But also popular, so it’s not a movie people wouldn’t know about, and movies that make you think.’

Desawade, a sophomore television, radio and film and marketing major, said this position is a good fit for him because it’s not about making the movie, but rather the managerial aspect.

While his personal movie taste tends towards horror, Desawade’s favorite film is ‘Titanic.’

Julie Katchen

Co-Director, Cinemas

Former Cinemas Board member

Katchen, as co-director of UU Cinemas, organizes the schedule and talks with film distributors Swank and Critereon to get the rights for movies.

‘I’m pretty energetic-I get excited about the films we’re presenting,’ she said. ‘I watch movies and I can be a little critical, but I like them for entertainment too.’

Desawade said he and Katchen work together instead of delegating different responsibilities, so they both learn the same skills and are on the same page.

Carissa Matthews

Co-Director, Promotions

Former Concert, Promotions Board member

‘My job is to put in place a promotion plan for each event,’ Matthews said. ‘I make sure the student body knows what’s going on.’

Promotions do whatever’s necessary to get the word out, whether it’s putting up fliers across campus or making a group on Facebook.com, she said.

‘If the student activity fee is going to it, then the students deserve to know,’ she said.

Because she is interested in almost everything UU does, Matthew said she is good at communicating what’s going on.

Paul Savaiano

Co-Director, Promotions

New to UU

‘We’re the unifying element of all UU, we like to say the backbone,’ Savaiano said. ‘Without promotions, the UU would be nothing. How are we supposed to become the official programming board on campus if we can’t advertise anything?’

Last year, the promotions board did little but create and post fliers, Savaiano said. This year, they are hoping to expand.

‘We have fun here as a group,’ Savaiano said, ‘but we’re also trying to put up the image of a professional organization. I like to show people that.’

Published on September 12, 2006 at 12:00 pm