Opinions split following high profile performance
Now that B.J. Novak’s routine has come and gone, and $35,730 has been subtracted from event funding, the question remains whether or not the money spent – which comes from student fees – yielded a successful event.
Financial Overview
Of the 2,168 seats available in the Kent Concert Hall, 1,469 tickets were sold, roughly two-thirds, to individuals across Utah, who traveled to Logan in order to see B.J. Novak, a writer and actor for the popular NBC television show “The Office,” perform his comedic routine.
USU designated $75,000 for arts and lectures for the 2010-11 school year. ASUSU arts and lectures director Skyler Parkhurst, along with the events committee, decided to spend $51,000 of that sum to bring Novak to USU. Parkhurst was appointed to his position by ASUSU Programming VP Tom Atwood. In an attempt to make a portion of the money back, all who wished to attend the event had to purchase a ticket – USU students paid $10 and the public paid $20.
Ticket office sales from the event totaled $15,270, less than one-third the cost of hosting the performance. Parkhurst said he believes there is a sum of money not included in the ticket office’s total because ASUSU sold a few hundred tickets in other ways.
Kayla Harris, 2009-10 ASUSU programming vice president, said programming originally believed they could make $40,000 back from the event. However, she said considering the limited amount of seating available and the cost of tickets, only $32,000 was possible.
“If you are going to spend that much money, spend it on something every student can attend,” Harris said. “I’d rather watch ‘The Office’ on my Netflix account for $8 per month.”
Parkhurst said he felt it was a good idea to invest in the show, though the bill was steep, and he wanted to make sure the funding available was used entirely because last year $35,000 was not spent. Any remaining funding does not roll over into the next year and is dispersed in other projects and programs throughout USU via a general fund.
“We realized that even if no one bought a ticket, well, we’d still spend as much as last year on the rest of the events. We were pretty sure it would be successful so we did take the chance, and not spending all the money is cheating the students,” Parkhurst said.
Atwood said the money spent on Novak’s performance will not hinder the number of activities arts and lectures will be able to do, because half of their budget is still intact.
They are now planning spring semester activities, which will include an appearance by NBA Jazz legend Jeff Hornacek. It will be a free event to students and the general public, Atwood said.
The Reactions
“I feel like I’m getting the short end of the stick where we still had to pay money, and lost the majority of our budget to a low-level comedian,” said Grayson Creer, an undeclared freshman.
With more than 17,000 students who attend classes at USU’s Logan campus, and less than 10 percent of this population attending the event, some students question whether the big loss in the arts and lectures budget was worth it. Out of the 1,469 people who attended the event, not all of them were USU students. Twenty-one people were selected to meet Novak after the show – 14 of them contest winners.
“The B.J. Novak event accomplished exactly what we intended it to, that is: increase the quality of entertainment on campus and draw publicity to the university,” Atwood said. “High quality, memorable events, with well-known artists, create lasting memories in addition to attracting students from other universities. This has a positive effect on university recruiting efforts.”
Harris said even if the event had sold out, only 8 percent of the student population would have been able to attend, and for $51,000, the event was not worth it.
“What if you were sitting in the way back? Who wants to pay $25 to watch one little guy talk on stage?” Harris said. “A comedian act was not a good idea. I just think it’s poor programming.”
She said she has observed the programming execution and believes it has been one-sided, and the committees do not keep the interests and needs of the entire student body in mind.
Meet-and-greet
Novak’s manager told programming staff that 25 people total could meet the comedian backstage, Parkhurst said, and 21 were selected. He said out of the 21, 14 were awarded with the VIP access after winning a contest.
The additional seven people who were allowed to meet Novak included Parkhurst’s younger brother, who helped plan the event, as well as two other friends who Parkhurst said contributed to the event. He also allowed a friend and her cousin to meet Novak because he had promised them the opportunity several weeks before.
“It’s not like she is my favorite person, she came to me early and asked, I said yes. When I make a promise I intend to keep it,” Parkhurst said.
When Parkhurst was asked how the girl received entrance backstage to meet Novak, he replied she was there as a reporter when she was not. He later said, “I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry.”
Ian Anderson, the cousin of a USU student who does not attend school in Logan, was promised he could meet Novak and was able to go backstage and talk with him for a brief period of time. He said no matter who was allowed to meet Novak, someone would have been upset.
“It’s hard to draw the line somewhere, and no matter where you put it, someone on that line is going to feel that it was wrong or that it was right,” Anderson said. “Granted, maybe Skyler made the wrong decision, but it’s not like he brought every one of his friends in, but there were some.”
Parkhurst said, “It’s not like we had this elaborate scheme to have this sweet party with my friends.”
Parkhurst said the list of backstage guests was unofficial and written in crayon. Many students who wanted autographs from Novak were turned away following the show.
– catherine.meidell@aggiemail.usu.edu