Students filed into the Union Friday night for what may have been the last Late Night LSU the University will ever host.
Jason Meier, assistant director of Union Programs, said earlier this year the four-year-old program was in danger of losing funding.
With the fall semester just around the corner, the program still has no sure source of funding in sight.
For the past three years, Student Life and Academic Services has been sponsoring Late Night LSU, but this year was the last year they provided funding.
Neil Mathews, vice chancellor of Student Life and Academic Services, agreed to fund the event for three years with the understanding that Late Night LSU would eventually seek a consistent means of funding elsewhere.
Meier said there are no offers or potential sponsors for next semester’s Late Night LSU program.
Meier said he has been looking at departments within Student Life and Academic Services and other departments that serve students for possible sponsorship.
He said it costs approximately $10,000 to put on each of the three Late Night LSUs held every semester.
The program would require $70,000 to $100,000 in funding, Meier said.
“I’m baffled and clueless,” Meier said. “When there’s 2,400 people in the Union on a Friday night, it’s a chance [for a company] to get its name out. With any luck someone will take advantage of it.”
Meier said he will be working with Mathews and Student Government President Chris Odinet to explore options for the program.
Odinet said SG is committed to ensuring that the program continues next year.
“It’s a very important program, and one of the best things that Student Life and Academic Services has offered that reaches the students in a very unique way,” Odinet said.
Odinet said he is unable to determine how much is needed – or if it is possible – for SG and Student Life and Academic Services to save the program until the next fiscal year or legislative session.
The legislative session will approve a budget that will determine how much money is freed up for higher education, which may enable the University to continue to fund the event.
Meier said he is optimistic that a sponsor will pull through in time for the first Late Night LSU, which would be scheduled for the Friday before the fall semester starts.
“We will do something; something will happen,” Meier said. “I’ve worked with this program for almost four years now. It’s become a huge part of my job and one of the reasons I love working at LSU. I will not let it go away.”
 
Contact Rebekah Allen at [email protected]