By: Yildiz Subuk, Staff Writer and Michelle Young, Copy Editor
Before the beginning of the 2024 fall semester, I saw a lot of promotion for an event called “Fall Kickoff.” The promotional material seemed to be advertising the fact that SFSS is on its way to build a more “fun-filled” student social life. It all seemed to start with this — a rave-like party.
The event took place September 20 and expected around 2,000 students. The SFSS cited “this year’s festival will be the first at SFU to incorporate a variety of third-party vendors that supply food, drinks, and brand activations” to “cater to a wide audience,” in addition to music performances. Despite not attending, Fall Kickoff seemed like the most grand event to happen on campus in a long time — probably because this was the first Kickoff hosted since 2019. At that time, the event resulted in a $105,995 deficit. This type of grandeur may invoke excitement for some, but for me, it was a cause for concern.
The 2024 Fall Kickoff was undeniably expensive. The Peak previously reported that “total expenses were $194,388,” despite the initial budget of $65,000. The SFSS noted that $114,554 of this cost went towards “paying artists and staging.” This is absurd for one event and the SFSS reported that this may come at the cost of lowering the budget for other “large events.”
The Peak previously reported that “total expenses were $194,388.”
The SFSS has to consider if this event is even worth it for a large part of the student body. Why is it that a rave or concert, which only expects up to 2,000 people (out of 37,000), is allotted so much funding? It is unfair to assume this is what the majority of the student body wants. In fact, the SFSS cited a “lack of ticket sales.” Instead of focusing on hype and advertising for this event, the SFSS could be using these funds to improve other student services. How is one expensive event going to have a long-term impact? This budget could have been allotted to a more diverse range of events spread out throughout the year, like Lunar New Year. In the same report for the 2024 Fall Kickoff, the SFSS noted their Diwali event “was very cost effective,” spending “under $4,900.” Here, the SFSS shows they can manage their budget well, so it has me questioning their budget priorities.
Not everyone views raves as the antidote to lackluster campus life. While the SFSS has a budget of $100,000 for large-scale events, this money could be better used elsewhere. SFU is filled with a community of film, games, and food enthusiasts. University of Victoria has their own theatre with a large selection of films, and plays every week for students to enjoy. We could adopt something similar, such as using the Images Theatre for when classes are out of session. We can also allocate more funding for clubs so we can create a long-term basis for building community. Instead of spending all this money to platform performers, it’d be more impactful to host smaller-scale concerts with local artists or SFU’s performance groups. This would help give a platform to students themselves.
While these events still require planning and consideration, I only made these suggestions to consider instead of focusing on one “exciting night.” In an attempt to spice up campus life, it felt out of touch. As for now, the Fall Kickoff signifies a mismanagement of funds and student priorities.
