2008 Woodie Awards
Not cool: A night with LL for $83,900
Mercury Editorial
Issue date: 10/18/04 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
Editor's Note: Following is an editorial of The Mercury's editorial board. The Editorial Board consists of the newspaper's management team (editor-in-chief, managing editor, section editors and advertising manager). The editorial board will discuss, debate and develop editorial positions on issues affecting the UTD community as needed. We welcome your responses.
Rapper legend LL Cool J is coming to campus Nov. 3. Not to give an informative lecture on the way his music has changed black America. Not to comment on how the drug culture and gansta rap has glorified drugs, alcohol and the degradation of women. No. He's coming to rap. And you are paying him. Lots.
SUAAB, the on-campus bastion of enthusiasm and school spirit, has arranged to pay the rapper $83,900 worth of student fees in order to bring him here. The decision was made after initial attempts to lure Yellow Card and the Black Eyed Peas all failed. Mr. Cool J even lowered his usual $140,000 appearance fee. Wasn't that kind of him?
But since when did SUAAB become concertmaster? When did it become imperative to jump start campus life with an expensive concert?
Admittedly, it's not SUAAB's fault. They were given a budget of $85,000 - $25,000 more than last year - from the Student Union Fee and Student Service Fee Advisory Committee specifically to attract a big name for the concert. SUAAB did what is was asked to do. We'll give SUAAB the benefit of the doubt here; LL Cool J is a known, if dated, music entity.
While we applaud both SUAAB and the Fee Committee's efforts to get students involved on campus, we don't think this is an appropriate use of student fees. Radio UTD's recent concert cost $1,000. The entire week of homecoming cost $17,000. Why did the fees committee allocate so much money for a single concert that appeals to such a limited audience? Why put all the eggs in one basket?
With $83,900, we could do smaller concerts, encourage existing events and provide funds for organizations that are trying to improve campus life from the grass roots - like the Comet Crush.
Last year it was all we could stomach to listen to an hour's worth of vulgar feces and female anatomy jokes from the ever-virulent Margaret Cho. We paid her approximately $40,000, and a good portion of her crowd wasn't even from UTD. Many who were from UTD walked out disgusted halfway through her set.
Anyone else see a linear progression? Who will get $120k next year?
UTD Mercury editorial board voted 3-1 in favor of this opinion.
Rapper legend LL Cool J is coming to campus Nov. 3. Not to give an informative lecture on the way his music has changed black America. Not to comment on how the drug culture and gansta rap has glorified drugs, alcohol and the degradation of women. No. He's coming to rap. And you are paying him. Lots.
SUAAB, the on-campus bastion of enthusiasm and school spirit, has arranged to pay the rapper $83,900 worth of student fees in order to bring him here. The decision was made after initial attempts to lure Yellow Card and the Black Eyed Peas all failed. Mr. Cool J even lowered his usual $140,000 appearance fee. Wasn't that kind of him?
But since when did SUAAB become concertmaster? When did it become imperative to jump start campus life with an expensive concert?
Admittedly, it's not SUAAB's fault. They were given a budget of $85,000 - $25,000 more than last year - from the Student Union Fee and Student Service Fee Advisory Committee specifically to attract a big name for the concert. SUAAB did what is was asked to do. We'll give SUAAB the benefit of the doubt here; LL Cool J is a known, if dated, music entity.
While we applaud both SUAAB and the Fee Committee's efforts to get students involved on campus, we don't think this is an appropriate use of student fees. Radio UTD's recent concert cost $1,000. The entire week of homecoming cost $17,000. Why did the fees committee allocate so much money for a single concert that appeals to such a limited audience? Why put all the eggs in one basket?
With $83,900, we could do smaller concerts, encourage existing events and provide funds for organizations that are trying to improve campus life from the grass roots - like the Comet Crush.
Last year it was all we could stomach to listen to an hour's worth of vulgar feces and female anatomy jokes from the ever-virulent Margaret Cho. We paid her approximately $40,000, and a good portion of her crowd wasn't even from UTD. Many who were from UTD walked out disgusted halfway through her set.
Anyone else see a linear progression? Who will get $120k next year?
UTD Mercury editorial board voted 3-1 in favor of this opinion.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
prozak
prozak
posted 1/07/05 @ 1:30 AM CST
Maybe it's time to save the money, and spend it on something meaningful, like machine guns for students so when society collapes they might survive.
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