“The Victors” could soon have a modernistic younger sibling.
If a resolution presented to the Central Student Government on Tuesday night passes, the body will provide funding to a group of students looking to develop an additional thematic song to play at University athletics events.
In addition to discussion of the resolution, the meeting also included an interactive presentation on reacting to an active shooter.
Business sophomore Adam Weiss, a representative on the CSG Assembly, spoke on behalf of the song campaign, which he called “Hail and Unite.” He said his friend, LSA senior Mike Weinberg, conceptualized the project.
“This project is meant to be, number one, extremely unique,” Weiss said. “The goal of this song is to get a lot of big names that are associated with the University.”
He added that the project would also be backed by a crowd-funding campaign, which is tentatively set to launch next month.
The Hail and Unite organization asked CSG to allocate $2,750 from its Legislative Discretionary Fund to the project: $1,750 would go toward funding for a promotional video to recruit donations from students, and $1,000 would go toward “speaker fees,” or accommodations for potential visiting contributors.
While the song’s lyrics and tune are still undetermined, Weiss said it is the organization’s aim to involve big names in the music business and University alumni to contribute to the song. For example, he said Weinberg wants to get Eminem involved.
Weiss also said that David Banner, a rapper and music producer, has already agreed to produce the final product.
Numerous representatives voiced uncertainty about the project because they felt its initial budgetary breakdown and ultimate goals were not clear enough to elicit funding. Others voiced concerns that it lacked the philanthropic value of student organizations that had received funding in the past, like MUSIC Matters or optiMize.
After it was suggested that a more detailed budget for the project be disclosed to the assembly, the resolution was sent to the finance committee for review.
Another important focus of Tuesday’s meeting was a presentation on active shooter situations, delivered by University Police Officer Matthew Butzky.
Butzky emphasized that in a situation where an active shooter is present, one has three options: run to a safe location, hide and attempt to barricade your space or fight to repel the threat.
“You’re not stuck in any one decision. This is fluid,” said Butzky about the three options. “If you can remove yourself from a dangerous situation, do it. Get out. It’s a simple solution, but people overlook it.”
Butzky delivered a similar
presentation for the first time to a University undergraduate lecture last month. Previously, the Division of Public Safety and Security delivered the presentation upon request to campus units.