The Student Association is going to take a break from resolutions and parliamentary procedure to kick off its semester with this year’s first concert.

The SA approved a plan Monday night to sponsor a concert featuring a major hip-hop artist. ‘Juice Jam,’ scheduled for Sept. 7 at the Schine Student Center, will be a joint venture among SA, University Union Concerts and Perc Place. UU Concerts has offered to pay the talent fees, which could run between $20,000 and $25,000, said Parliamentarian Andrew Lederman, a sophomore international relations major. SA would pay about $2,000 for security and other expenses. Although the bid to secure the main act has already been placed, Lederman could not reveal the artist under consideration.

In addition to the main event, Juice Jam will feature a party in front of Schine prior to the concert, with a DJ and vendors from area restaurants such as Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and Cosmo’s Pizza Shop, as well as performances from student bands. If the bid is successful, the identity of the featured performer will be revealed by Friday, said Lederman.

In other SA news:

n The SA will participate in a committee studying students’ attendance at off-campus parties. Along with 13 other schools around the country, the university is participating in the study, which is being run by a team from the University of Michigan.

‘I just want to make it clear that this is not something the university is doing to crack down on partying,’ said Public Relations Director Chris Laidley, a senior public relations major.

The study will included focus groups and surveys and will reach about 1,500 students, Laidley said. The survey process will be relatively non-invasive, said Associate Dean of Students Joe Oravecz. The Office of Off-Campus Student Services will also be participating in the study, SA President Andrew Thomson said. Thomson said that concerns about student’s safety may be at the heart of the study’s purpose.

‘I guess they were seeing more injuries coming from off-campus parties, so that was the purpose of the study,’ Thomson said.

n The SA is setting up a committee to study its rape assistance program, which would provide services to victims. The program was placed on the codes two years ago but was never implemented, Thomson said. The committee will consider whether to implement the program or cut it from the SA codes.

Published on August 25, 2003 at 12:00 pm