EDITORIAL: Speaker series deserves permanent place
The Central Michigan University Speaker Series would appear to be back for good, but the lack of permanent planning and funding threatens to deprive our student body of important exposure to intellectuals and professionals.
With its loss of regular funding in 2003, the Speaker Series continues to scramble for donations and one-time "gifts" from the President and Provost’s offices. As a result of lack of funding and planning, the Speaker Series was unable to bring a speaker for the 2008-09 school year and constantly experiences brief hiatuses.
Without committed funding, targeting speakers for future events is impossible. As a reflection of its role in society — the beacon of progressing cognition — the university should fund the Speaker's Series.
The absence of a selection committee or guaranteed money to bring in these A-list voices leaves what should be a key component of any campus schedule uncertain.
While Program Board is a funded and highly-organized body designed to bring in entertainment, something they do well, there is no parallel body tasked with funding and scheduling of guests with a slightly more (mentally) stimulating body of work than LMFAO.
The genuine and pervasive excitement surrounding Jane Goodall's scheduled speech in March shows that our campus is capable of being interested in something other than pop music or paint parties. While it is not to say those events aren't worthwhile — they've proven to be some of the most anticipated and attended — where's the middle ground between attending classes and whipping paint at one another while dancing?
It seems the walls between education and enjoyment have been standing firmly in place, something that doesn't give the students of CMU enough credit. We have many great minds attending this university, and not to bridge the gap between what we do in class time and what we do in our personal time fails to encourage real-life learning.
Instead of putting energy toward seeking funding, the Speaker Series could focus on finding influential speakers for the student body.
Or, we can just stick with throwing paint.
