Though I remain hopeful for the Associated Students Federation (ASF) Forum, I am holding my breath when it comes to this year’s Homecoming.
The chosen theme for this year’s Homecoming is “Coming to a Theater Near You.” Well, if Homecoming is coming to a theater near me, I wonder if it is going to be a late release.
The Forum sponsors the event every year, but Wednesday’s meeting was a preview that told me things are still running behind schedule, to say the least.
From what ASF Forum officers vented at the meeting, it seems that the reason for the lack of planning was simply that Forum members were not getting their jobs done.
ASF President Dan Lougheed and other officers seemed to scold the slow-moving Forum, reminding them that Homecoming is less than four weeks away.
For the last few weeks, ASF advisers Don Morel and Melissa Jaunal had been reminding members that paperwork had yet to be completed, that preparation seemed slow and that Homecoming would soon be right around the corner. Wednesday, things reached a boiling point, as another week slipped by with little accomplished.
Perhaps the Forum members and the entire student body need a brush up on the large number of events that come along with Homecoming.
There is a parade, a fair, a Monte Carlo Night, a football game, the Homecoming Court, elections, the illumination, the half-time coronation, a powderpuff football game, a bonfire and a karaoke pizza bash.
This is a great number of events, and for all of them to work, Forum members need to get moving and plan the events. It is not as though these are any new events, or as if the members challenged themselves to avoid the status quota.
I remind members of the ASF Forum, as ASF Accountant Matt Policare did, they are being paid, they volunteered to be Forum members in the first place and they are the representation of ULV.
It was Policare who told Forum members, “a third of us are doing the work.” That means that out of a total of 19 members, about six are actually putting together Homecoming.
Therefore, about six people have been planning 12 activities. No wonder an unusual aura of bitterness seemed to radiate around the ASF officers’ table. I imagine they are exhausted.
Perhaps the best thing about the meeting was the fact that officers were not afraid to do their jobs which unfortunately sometimes mean pointing out the problems and kicking some Forum members butts into gear.
For the last few weeks, Homecoming and standing committees have given weak reports at the Wednesday meetings. Usually the reports went something like, “Well, we haven’t formally met, but we have talked about some ideas and will have more next week.”
Week after week, the only committees that have made any significant steps are the box office committee, which, incidentally is run by Lougheed and Policare, and the Ugly Shirt Bowl-a-Thon committee. One all-school activity and Homecoming make a skimpy line-up for an entire semester of ASF work, especially from what seems to be such a diverse and promising Forum.
What about those plans for better lighting, fresh new activities and a return to politics?
Before I get too carried away into other activities and my two personal favorites — campus improvements and student advocacy — I return back to the main concern for the next month, Homecoming.
It is just around the corner and screaming to get worked on. If ASF Forum members cannot hear that screaming, they will have to hear Lougheed until they get the picture.
He told Forum members, “I want to have a great Homecoming,” but it seems he cannot do more than lead his horses to water. It is up to them to drink, and on behalf of the students, I hope they get thirsty soon.
Andrea Gardner, a senior broadcast journalism major, is editor in chief of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at gardnera@ulv.edu.
Journalism operations manager at the University of La Verne. Production manager and business manager of the Campus Times.
