The University Program Council branch of the Student Government Association discussed the Spring Concert, February movie and a proposal to fund the purchase of walkie-talkies at the semester’s first meeting on Jan. 13.

UPC delegates are waiting to get confirmation that Norton Auditorium is going to be able to accommodate the artist that will perform at the Spring Concert, said Alonzo Dukes, chairman of the live acts committee.

“We have Norton and Flower’s Hall both reserved for April 29 to have the concert,” Dukes said. “We just have to find out which location we need to use because some artists have requirements to come do a performance for their own protection.”

Some artists require the host of their concerts to put up barricades to keep the audience from getting too close, for example, he said.

“Once all that is worked out, we’ll know more about the location,” he said.

UPC has decided to keep the name of the artist that will perform a secret until the Spring Concert tickets go on sale.

Dukes said that the council used a ranking system to choose the artist that they wanted to perform.

“We try to alternate the genre from year to year, so that it’s not always the same thing,” he said. “We had everyone on UPC list their top ten choices from the rock and hip-hop genres to get the top pick from each one.”

UPC does not yet know who the entertainer will be, but that it will be one of two—either a rock or hip-hop artist, Dukes said.

During his committee report, Dukes opened discussion regarding the purchase of walkie-talkies to be used for communication during events like the Spring Concert and Miss UNA pageant.

“I know that we had a lot of trouble communicating before during (other events) when we tried using our phones, so I think these will make these easier, especially since they are hands-free,” Dukes said.

I think it would be a good idea to take half of the money for the purchase from the live acts committee budget and the other half from the miscellaneous fund, he said.

“Since the walkie-talkies will be used for events other than the ones my committee will use them for, I think the cost could be shared,” Dukes said to the council.

Dukes said that he plans to draft a bill for the council to vote on later to allocate the funds for purchase.

Movies and Novelties Chairman Brandon Landis gave his report on the February movie during the new business discussion at the meeting.

The event will be held in the Guilliot University Center Performance Center on Feb. 28 at 6 p.m., Landis said.

“We are going to be showing Catching Fire, so we’re hoping for a really big turn out,” he said, “since everyone likes the Hunger Games movies.”

Free T-shirts will be given to the first 100 students there and popcorn and drinks will be provided, he said. Students get in free with their mane cards.

Mallory Hayes joined UPC as the new Pro-Tempore for the spring semester and Brandon Landis and Briana Jordan started off the semester as new committee chairpersons.

Landis, chairman of the movies and novelties committee and Jordan, chairwoman of the culture and education committee have been working together with their respective committees.

Editor’s note: UPC has recently added six members for the semester: Lauren Baeder, Chelsea Yarber, John Loftis, Tamilyua Whorton, Carlton Lewis and Kayla Slusher.