They’ve presented acts such as Ben Folds Five and Wilco. This semester they will bring Matisyahu and The Academy Is … to campus. In fact, they’ve been bringing entertainment to the University and the community since 1892.

Star Course is a student-run organization responsible for not only picking live entertainment but also for promoting, organizing and running the events, said Maggie Marek, junior in Media and Star Course co-manager. All of the group’s events take place at Foellinger Auditorium.

Star Course is a smaller division of Assembly Hall, Marek said. The organization works with Assembly Hall to gather ideas for future events.

Star Course’s first step for putting on a show is deciding who they want to bring to campus. Star Course has brought a variety of acts ranging from comedians to orchestras. However, there are limitations on what performers Star Course can bring.

“We have to base it (picking an event) on who’s touring, our budget and what the students want,” Marek said.

Star Course tries to bring acts that the student body will be interested in, Marek said. Students can go to the Star Course Web site and e-mail their entertainment requests to the organization.

After picking an event to bring to campus, the next step is to book them. Star Course uses organizations that have contacts with artistic talents, otherwise known as “middle agents,” in the booking process, Marek said.

After the show is booked, all that is left to do is promote, organize and hold the event. Star Course promotes in several different ways. They promote their events by posting flyers not only around Campustown and Champaign-Urbana but also at other colleges such as ISU, Marek said.

The organization also uses online resources such as Facebook and Twitter to promote upcoming events, she added. They give away free tickets through radio stations and hold “listening parties,” or gatherings where people can hang out and listen to the music of an artist or group that is going to perform.

Star Course also works with local businesses to promote shows.

“We’ll work with the owner of a bar and arrange for the bar to play music from an artist that will be coming to campus. It’s a good way to generate buzz,” Marek said.

Organizing the event and putting on the show takes a lot of work. The shows involve many different people and committees that help out in various ways, Marek said. There are “day of show” and “non-day of show” committees.

Non-day of show committees include areas such as advertising media, advertising design, public relations, publicity and personnel. These committees play a big part in informing the public about upcoming events and do not work at the events themselves.

The day of show committees are responsible for the execution of the event, Marek said. These include people working ticketing, ushering, stage production, hospitality, business administration and accounting. Not all members work every show, but those who do get to enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done and a free show.

Because Star Course is a student-run organization, there is no compensation to members, but the “hands-on experience” is reward enough, Marek said.

Star Course is open to all students who would like to join, and the organization holds interviews each semester for new members. Although the group is a lot of fun, it is serious work, Marek said.

“Star Course is really good for students with an interest in concert production and management,” she said.

Star Course’s major events for this semester are Matisyahu with special guest Trevor Hall on Nov. 4 and The Academy Is … on Nov. 18.