Union Programming Board Story

The Union Programming Board met Wednesday, Feb. 24 in the Scholars Room at the Oklahoma Memorial Student Union to discuss upcoming events, learn more about the charity they are partnering with, and publicize some changes to the structure of UPB.

The meeting began with a welcome by student advisor, Steven Lee. He ran the meeting, providing amusing segues between topics on the agenda. Melissa Little, the membership chair, provided a brief overview of UPB's function--to create the community events held in the union--for the new attendees, and then Lee returned to the front to lead an icebreaker.

"In UPB there's always why we do something" Lee said after his icebreaker, "Pulse" was received with confusion as to what it's point was. "Communication is key to everything. When you need to plan an event or get something done, communicate, communicate, communicate."

The UPB members did just that. The first order of business was a discussion on the next event, "As Seen on TV," to be held Feb. 25.

"This is a brand new event! It's either going to be a huge event or a flop" Lee warned. The event was a series of TV game shows, including "Jeopardy," "Deal or No Deal," and "Family Feud", in which students could participate to try and win prizes from infomercials. Items like the Snuggie, Wonder Hanger, and Slap Chop were up for grabs, inspiring the title of the event.

Volunteer were encouraged to arrive at 6 p.m. to help with the setup, lighting, and run-through. All of UPB was encouraged to volunteer and to promote the event as much as possible.

Following that, Emily Mapes, the community service chair, introduced UPB's new charity. This year, rather than participating in several small service projects, UPB will be partnering with the Bridges program here in Norman to sponsor a scholarship for one student in the program.

Bridges' executive director, Deborah Krittenbrink, spoke, explaining the program, which helps homeless teens to be able to continue pursuing their education. "Homelessness is very different now. There are over 300 homeless families in Norman, and over 100 homeless teens," Krittenbrink said. She described several volunteer opportunities available at Bridges, including doing grounds work and mentoring Bridges students.

Donations going toward the UPB scholarship fund will be collected before "As Seen on TV."

Following Krittenbrink's presentation, UPB vice president, Whitney Richardson explained an upcoming event, "Spa Night," for which she needed volunteers to meet in a committee after the meeting to get instructions on distributing contracts to beauticians at local salons.

"It's going to go out to all the salons in Norman, and it's a great way for them to publicize their salons while also getting paid to do what they do," Richardson said. "We just have a bunch of hair cutters, eyebrow waxers, manicurists, everyone just comes in and give free cuts to everybody."

Emily Mapes later explained the reason for the new committee structure at UPB: "These committees are a new thing. We needed ideas and with a committee you can be much more engaged."

While UPB members are more engaged because of the new structure, they still have fun with their work, a fact that drew first-time attendee, Jared Stepien. "The meetings are super short so I don't have to put too much time in coming here. I hear they have a lot of fun. They don't get down to business, they're all about enjoying it," Stepien said.

Other upcoming events for UPB include the Mom's Diamond Casino, scheduled for the week after spring break, Spa Night, tentatively set for April 2, and the Big Event, April 10 where UPB will have a volunteer team participating.