The free Thursday afternoon concerts at Pierce College have been stalled due to the Associated Student Organization’s agreement to postpone the financial requests and funds needed to continue them.
The concerts, organized by music professor James Bergman, had been funded by the ASO for years. However, the ASO “tabled the financial request” at their last financial meeting Thursday, Feb. 19.
The ASO’s treasurer, 23-year-old Michael McGee, apologized for not responding sooner to Bergman’s request.
“It has been a hectic week, so we did not get to contacting them yet. We are in support of it. We have aside money for the concerts just like we have done all the years before hand,” McGee said.
The ASO clerk, Jonathan Vazquez, noted that the financial meetings are open to everyone, but no non-ASO members showed up.
“People assume that everything sent in will be approved,” Vazquez said.
McGee said he would like for people to show up at the meetings if they had any questions and that they have not made any decisions yet.
“We feel alone when no one comes and tell us why they need it [the money] or just spend enough time with their finance request,” McGee said.
“To solve this problem, we are going to talk about it in our next meeting,” McGee said.
The concerts have been going on for at least 35 years according to Bergman. Every semester he takes time out of his teaching to make sure they are planned before classes begin.
He gathers information about the musicians and finds time to discuss scheduling and preparation prior to their performances. He wants to ensure the best possible experience, not only for the musicians but also for the students.
Bergman said he disperses the money given to him evenly amongst the performers.
“I would have to write a proposal to the ASO for spring and fall semester. I created a whole packet, to really sell it. I had the musicians listed to play and the blurbs of what the students said about it,” Bergman said.
This semester, the plan to set up the concerts again has gotten off to a slower start than usual, and the process is unfamiliar to the new ASO members.
