Union Programming Board

The Union Programming Board met Wednesday at 9 p.m. in the Oklahoma Memorial Union on campus to discuss upcoming events at OU. The UPB puts on all events in the union throughout the semester. All students were encouraged to attend, and the meeting was advertised with e-mail and signs.
At the meeting, students were provided vegetables with dip, mozzarella sticks, and ice water. Most board members and students wore casual dress, and chairs were arranged in a semicircle to encourage communication. Tyler Nunley, the UPB president, welcomed any unfamiliar students to the board members as they arrived. He then began the meeting welcome.
Unlike many meetings, the UPB is informal and starts with an “ice-breaker” game to familiarize guests with their peers and the board members. Student Advisor Steven Lee directed as students lined up in two teams to play a game called Pulse where signals are sent down a line via hand squeezes. The game would encourage student participation throughout the meeting, as “communication is important for everything,” Steven said.
The largest portion of the meeting was spent introducing the charity recipient of UPB events for the upcoming weeks, Bridges. Debra Krittenbrink, Bridges spokeswoman, said that Bridges works with homeless high school students by providing a cheap apartment and encouraging the students to work. Bridges is funded by United Way, grants and donations. Krittenbrink said “homelessness is very different now,” and often times the homelessness of students is not obvious or given proper help. Bridges is a successful program, with 58% of the students continuing to college, Krittenbrink said.
Lee then introduced one of the events that would raise money for Bridges, the “As Seen on TV Game Show” event in the Union Thursday night. This event would have students participate in game show trivia in order to win prizes often seen in television infomercials. The UPB meeting needed to recruit student volunteers to run the event.
Upcoming events like Spa Night, Casino Royale and Sooner Idol were mentioned at the meeting so students would begin to think about how they can help UPB run the events smoothly. The attending students also voted on the food for the next UPB meeting, the result being fruit and donuts.
Matt Ottian, a student who is not part of the board but often attends meetings or volunteers for events, was surprised at how many students attended. He said that usually “not too many” people show up other than the regulars, and it was good to see better attendance.
The next UPB meeting is March 10. Spa Night, Sooner Idol and Casino Royale will be discussed in greater detail as well as any new ideas for Union events.