Cadet training
Students prepare to become officers and leaders

House of Records
A local shop offers a tactile experience in a digital age

Making a business of love
Wendy Strgar works to change society's view of intimacy

Slow and steady wins this race
Developmental delays are no match for Tegan Wright

Celebrating Spielberg
The English Department showcases the director's work

A celebration of culture
The Elmira Pow-Wow honors veterans, elders and diversity

A fresh approach to cocktails
It's the ingredients at Bel Ami Lounge

From Quito to Eugene
A student's journey from the Universidad to the University

Death Saddle
Three students try a new sound in a new band

Behind the scenes
What goes on to make the show go on at the EMU

Baseball is back
The sport returns to the university after 28 years

Thompson's Mills
The oldest water-powered grain mill in the state

A chance to shine
Intramural basketball provides an equal opportunity

Lessons in teamwork
YMCA youth basketball molds future athletes

Making the right call
Students find that officiating isn't as easy as it looks

A soccer tradition
Local players get together to keep the game alive

The Other Side of the E.M.U.

Hundreds of events occur at the University of Oregon's Erb Memorial Union every year. For each event tables must be moved, chairs must be arranged and the appropriate sound and lighting technology must be set up and run. For most people who attend an event at the E.M.U. all of these details are taken for granted, but for a group of student employees the details are essential.

The University's Event Services office is made up of roughly 40 student crewmembers and a handful of full-time employees. The students do everything from mopping and vacuuming before and after events to running the sound and lighting that is integral to most large events. The job can be thankless. Essentially, a good job means that the student workers are not really seen, and their work is not noticed. Even when it comes to lighting and sound a job well done means the audience and performers take the work done by crewmembers for granted. Only when things go wrong are crewmembers thrown into the spotlight. However, there are perks. Crewmembers get front row seats to many of the cultural events held on campus, and they get to experience the shows from angles that normal attendees never see.

On Feb. 6 the Students from the Indian Subcontinent put on their annual show, Utsav. Utsav is typical of many of the ethnic cultural night held on campus every year. The group serves food and performs traditional acts that represent their native culture in front of large audiences in the EMU Ballroom. Large events like Utsav are a challenge for the Event Services crew for many reasons. These events always require a lot of sound and lighting expertise, and they always draw large crowds. The bigger the crowds the higher the concern crowd management becomes, and the more crewmembers must be scheduled to help.

The video above gives some sense of what it is like to set up for a large event.