For more than a year, Hillel at Syracuse University knew it wanted to celebrate its 60th anniversary in the biggest way it could.

To do that, the group hoped to bring a big-name artist with widespread campus appeal — but making that happen was not easy.

After Student Association denied Hillel’s request for funding three times, the group needed to find a different source for the money. Their main source: Chancellor Nancy Cantor. Cantor gave the group $35,000 in funding, said Hillel President Michael Weiss. Hillel also received $15,000 from Bandersnatch, a subdivision of University Union, and another $5,000 from co-curricular funding. A few private donations helped as well, Weiss said.

With the help those contributions, Hillel will bring DJ Diplo of Major Lazer to SU on March 26.

SA refused to issue monetary support to Hillel three times between April and October 2010, despite the fact that the group revised its financial requests each time. This was in large part due to the inability of SA to distribute so much money to any one organization, said Neal Casey, SA’s president. With many significant financial requests, there was no way to accommodate everyone, he said.

‘We look at the cost-per-student ratio, and it would have definitely increased the student fee,’ said Casey, referring to the $150 charged to students every year to fund events. ‘It would have been difficult for us, especially when we have so many other events to fund.’

SA’s Finance Board also took into consideration ‘programming capital,’ Casey said, which reflects on each group’s historical experience with campus events.

Since Hillel is a nonprofit, national organization, its events are often funded privately, Weiss said, so SA does not always know the details of its events. SA refused to fund the group because it had no reason to believe Hillel could pull through in planning and executing a large-scale event, Weiss said.

Weiss persisted, however, and attended a roundtable discussion with Cantor, Dean of Student Affairs Thomas Wolfe and other student leaders on campus. Cantor, a proponent of Hillel, recognized the importance of the organization’s 60th anniversary and decided to help fund the concert. Cantor has a portion of money to delegate to organizations or initiatives as she sees fit throughout the year.

Cantor often attends various events, dedications and panel discussions hosted by Hillel. After providing the initial base of funding for the concert, Cantor seemed excited about the event, Weiss said, and the pair has kept in touch.

‘It’s really nice because it gives us an opportunity to work closely with the leadership of this university, and that’s a big part of what makes us a great organization,’ Weiss said. ‘Cantor’s been there for us whenever we’ve needed her.’

Being rejected by SA multiple times created some tension between the group and Hillel, Weiss said. But since then, the leadership teams from Hillel and SA discussed and sorted out communication errors and misunderstandings between the groups, Weiss said.

‘Hillel or SA aside, we’re still students, and we’re all on the same team,’ Casey said.

SA plans to help promote and market Hillel’s 60th anniversary in any way it can, Casey said, and the groups have been working closely together.

‘We’ve never had a stronger connection with SA,’ Weiss said. ‘We’ve made a lot of progress, and there’s absolutely no tension anymore.’

mainthia@syr.edu

Published on February 20, 2011 at 12:00 pm