By Renee Wright

Chances are that if you’ve ever been to an event at Northeastern, you’ve been to an event sponsored by the Council for University Programs, more commonly known as CUP. From concerts to guest lectures, from Springfest to Homecoming, CUP does it all. They specialize in keeping Northeastern students entertained and informed, and have been doing so for years.

This past weekend, CUP sponsored Northeastern’s annual Winter Weekend, a tradition started in 2000. This year’s event was highlighted a dinner cruise on the Spirit of Boston, which travels throughout Boston Harbor, and a comedy show with Darrell Hammond of Saturday Night Live at Blackman Auditorium.

Cup still has several events currently being planned for the rest of the year and into next year.

“The biggest thing right now is Springfest,” said CUP Vice President Tom Kneafsey.

This year’s Springfest theme will be “NUstock,” a sort of parody of the festival “Woodstock.” Last year’s event brought such acts to the university as The Roots, hypnotist Michael Anthony and showcased an outdoor viewing of movies. This year’s Springfest is scheduled for May 12-17, and activities for this event are still in the works.

Ongoing events sponsored by CUP include the now regular Tuesday night Comedy Showcase at afterHOURS, featuring various local stand-up comics, and the Monthly Film Series, which provides free movies for the NU student’s viewing pleasure. February’s movie was 8-Mile starring Eminem.

“Around 80 people showed up for 8 Mile,” CUP’s Film and Video Chair Lisa Martin said. “Every month the attendance gets higher and higher.”

The Monthly Film Series also provides the students who attend with a choice of what they want to see the next month.

“At the release, the students vote on what movie they want to see next,” Martin said. “It’s completely decided by the students.”

Diversity and cultural education is also a concern of the CUP. In the past, CUP has co-sponsored events like the screening of the HBO film “The Laramie Project” with NUBiLAGA amd the presentation of the AIDS quilt in the Curry Student Center with Sigma Sigma Sigma.

“We think it’s important to co-sponsor events and pull together the resources of various organizations and departments to offer better and more diverse programming,” said CUP’s Diversity Chair Jaime Plaza. One upcoming CUP event promoting diversity awareness is an art gallery display about diversity in America. This will be on display in the Student Center Gallery from April 21- 25, and will be complete with portable headsets that guide you around the gallery.

Though CUP provides a multitude of programs to Northeastern, they still express concerns over funding.

“We very much support the Student Government Association’s [Student Activity Fee] referendum,” Kneafsey said. “Too often we turn down amazing acts that Northeastern students should be exposed to.”

Since their main goal is to bring various programming to the students of Northeastern, the Council for University Programs is constantly searching for new ideas. CUP’s Lecture Chairman Ryan Stanton recently attended a convention in Nashville, Tenn., held by the National Association for Campus Activities, where he saw a multitude of programming possibilities.

“They had comedians, musical acts, and other things to give us more ideas,” Stanton said. “I also got to meet Screech from ‘Saved by the Bell,’ so that was cool too.”

The CUP also has several committees within the organization that focus and various aspects of student programming at Northeastern and are open to new members. The committees include the Concerts, Culture and Diversity, Entertainment, Film and Video, Homecoming, Lectures, and the Springfest Committee. CUP meets at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays in 340 Curry Student Center.

For more information, call ext. 4336, visit their website at www.cup.neu.edu, or send an e-mail to [email protected].