Big speakers deserve bigger venues
The Observer Editorial
Observer Editorial Board
Tim Russert's lecture Monday in McKenna Hall on "Washington from the Inside Out" was an interesting and very timely event. With lively anecdotes from his career, a rundown of the 2000 presidential campaign and an explanation of his vision for the future of American politics, Russert kept the audience spellbound for the entire lecture.
Too bad many students were not able to hear it.
The planners of the Jack Kelly and Gail Weiss Lecture Series on Journalism should have had the foresight to expect the hordes of people that tried to attend the lecture and therefore should have provided a larger venue for the event and given students priority to attend. McKenna Hall is not the only, nor is it the largest, lecture hall on campus.
Russert's talk easily could have taken place at a larger site such as Washington
Hall or a Debartolo classroom. Because McKenna Hall was the chosen location, many students were blocked from the room and forced to stand outside, struggling to hear Russert from the hallway.
Not only is McKenna Hall too small for a speaker of Russert's caliber, but the seating arrangement limits its capacity further. Because the front of the auditorium contains several large conference tables, seats close to the podium are limited. Had those tables been removed, more chairs could have been put in their place, allowing more people to attend the lecture.
The sponsors of the event should be commended for making an effort to bring speakers such as Russert to Notre Dame, however, their efforts are overshadowed by poor planning.
In the future, when speakers of national prominence and interest, such as Russert or Joseph Liberman come to campus, the largest venue should be chosen so that the most students possible can be exposed to their ideas.
All Viewpoint Stories for Friday, November 17, 2000
