The forced resignation of the University Board concert coordinator and some broken bylaws sparked a firey debate between UB coordinators and the concert committee.

All eight members of the University Board concert committee signed a letter presented to the coordinators at a meeting Tuesday.

The letter spells out qualms the committee had with the appointment of Donna Fernandez as coordinator.

“Having Donna Fernandez as coordinator has only created a disheartened team of students,” the letter stated.

Members of the committee alleged that Fernandez’s appointment violated a UB bylaw, which states perspective members of executive committee must be voted on by executive committee members.

UB Chair Caleb Judy said Fernandez’s appointment as co-coordinator last semester without a vote was an oversight and will be corrected. Cici Brinker, director of student life, also took a share of the blame and said the appointment wasn’t done “maliciously.”

“It is completely my fault, and I am the one to blame for it,” Judy said. “This will motivate me to make sure I know all the bylaws. We will open up the position now and Donna has obviously applied. In my opinion, she is the most qualified for the position.”

But many committee members said Wednesday they weren’t satisfied and some members have threatened to resign. The letter, signed by all eight UB concert committee members, called for Fernandez to resign and suggested Tom Galla as a candidate for her replacement.

“It’s nothing personal against any of them (the executive committee),” said concert committee member Tim Brannan. “We don’t want to leave. We put our heart into this and we got it done.”

Concert committee member Jen Czupryn said she won’t resign.

“We really love what we do and we don’t want to leave because that would give (the excutive board) the pleasure of having us gone,” said Czupryn, a

sophomore elementary education major.

Former UB concert coordinator Bud Wierenga thought he was doing his job well too, but board coordinators told him he could either be fired or resign.

“My main goal was always to get the students what they wanted,” Wierenga said. “I wanted to get the best concert for the students, but I think that got away from those who were higher up. I felt bad because they were making me step down because of lies and manipulation.”

Wierenga alleged that Fernandez and Judy accused him of not performing his duties – a charge both confirmed.

“I think it was just becoming obvious that Bud was not an effective coordinator,” Fernandez said. “Bud received this position over a year ago and it’s a very big position with a lot of money. In the time I’ve been a coordinator I’ve learned everything it takes, whereas (Wierenga) still doesn’t get it.”

Wierenga said Fernandez was appointed to accomplish duties he couldn’t.

“She was good at the planning and the organizing and I was good at the other things, so I understood that’s how it was going to be,” Wierenga said.

Judy, who went on a spring break trip with Wierenga last year, said it was a hard decision to make.

“The discussions during the meeting Tuesday got pretty personal, they were candid,” Judy said. “This wasn’t personal.”

But Wierenga said there are hard feelings.

“She’s a cold person,” Wierenga said. “She’s more the type who barks out orders.”

Concert committee members allege Ferenadez and Judy weren’t listening to members’ suggestions for acts to play on campus.

They allege Fernandez showed no interest in other acts that ranked high on the surveys conducted by the UB. Members Czupryn, Kristen Thornburn and Brannan all told The Daily Eastern News (italics) Tuesday they believe Fernandez made bids for acts based on her personal preference in music.

“We believe she simply skipped from one plan to another and didn’t give us any input or didn’t listen to what we had to say,” Thornburn said. “Some bands were overlooked in order to get the one she wanted.”

Judy laughed at the allegations and Fernandez refuted them.

“Their only purpose is to simply give input,” Judy said. “That’s simply a check-and-balance to the executive board. They don’t understand all the issues that are at hand and the availability of certain bands. We can’t take those surveys for all they’re worth, they aren’t scientific.”

Fernandez said there is plenty of research and planning involved in getting an act to play at Eastern and there is a limited amount of dates which Lantz can be used for a concert.

Fernandez said the UB made bids to Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, a college tour that will begin this summer. More than 200 schools applied to host the act which was only scheduled for 13 days and Eastern made the final cut.

But Fernandez said that Matthews and Reynolds decided to cut the tour one date short in a “last-minute” decision.

Fernandez said the UB made two bids to Ludicris and the rapper turned down both. Ludicris offered to play in Lantz Arena Feb. 14 and on a date that falls on Eastern’s spring break.

Fernandez said staging a concert for Feb. 14 would be too short of notice and staging one over spring break likely wouldn’t be profitable.