Editor
Once again, the students of K-State are getting the shaft because of the inability of the various planning groups on campus to work together. President Mc-Cain’s ad hoc concerts committee and the Athletic Council are feuding and it is the students who are suffering from their squabble. K-State students are being denied the right to sce Olivia Newton-John in a concert simply because the Union Programming Council and McCain’s ad hoc committee are jealous of the A-Council’s concert planning.
Maybe the A-Council went about the arrangements for the Helen Reddy concert in the wrong way, but two wrongs don’t make a right. The stopping of the Olivia concert seems to be no more than an immature attempt at revenge for A-Council having shown up UPC at the entertainment game.
NOW, ANY sympathy we ever had for UPC concerning its grievances with A-Council is gone. Perhaps it once had reasons to complain but no longer. The A Council has agreed to work with UPC, but the ad hoc committee has slapped its hand and sent it home on the pretense that no one would want to see Olivia.
To say that no one would want to see the performer who was awarded the number one song of 1974, best female country-western singer of 1974, best upcoming female entertainer of 1974 and is nominated for two Grammy awards, is sheer foolishness. The ad hoc committee should have enough wisdom in these matters to realize that such a concert would probably be a sell-out.
Since the ad hoc committee appears not to have this judgement, we might ask just who should be planning concerts in the first place? Granted, A-Council may have over-stepped itself in arranging and promoting the Reddy concert. But who cares who sponsors the shows, especially if we have more shows of greater variety. Let’s face it. A-Council did get a big-name performer who had never been here before. (How many more times will UPC bring us Nitty Gritty Dirt Band?).
THE A-COUNCIL conducted the Reddy concert in an attempt to raise money. The concert was not the greatest success, but it was not a flop either. The important issue to consider is that A-Council seems to be involved in an attempt to bring a number of new, well-known entertainers to campus. In review of UPC’s efforts over the past few years, we find that it has failed at the same efforts.
Therefore, we feel President McCain’s ad hoc committee should not try to hinder A-Council’s attempts to provide the entertainment desired by K-State students but denied them by UPC. We, in fact, have the belief that the ad hoc committee was to be advisory and not regulatory. However, it is apparent that this committee is dictating policy rather than coordinating UPC and A-Council efforts.
Lastly, we would like to ask why a committee that apparently has so much power over University events, does not have a representative from the University’s Facilities Use Committee or A-Council?
Dennis Christesen, Senior in journalism and 19 other students.
Editor,
The ad hoc concerts committee recently took a giant step toward standing up for the interests of the K-State student; keeping top entertainment personalities (Olivia Newton-John), from appearing here because it was the Athletic Council, not the Union, which made the arrangements for the concert.
We believe their reasons were sound and justified as we hope to show:
FIRST OF all, “The Athletic Council people have expertise in staging athletic events and the Union people have expertise in running concerts.”
Oh how true. The UPC Concerts Committee (or whatever its official title is), is made up of students which are selected each fall and in one short year, learn and apply all there is to know about the concert business. Look at all the top concerts we have had the past two years Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. And just last night they had another top (?) group on campus for a concert, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. We students really appreciate the great variety of concerts they provide for us.
Secondly, “The committee was concerned about the community’s reaction to another concert.” What a justified concern. Look at the recent Helen Reddy concert the poor sound systern, lighting and the way the audience was handled, before, during and after the concert. It was definitely apparent the A-Council had no idea how to handle such a thing as a concert.
Thirdly, the scheduled date for the concert, March 16, is the Sunday following spring break, therefore attendance would be poor. How true their reasoning for we all know that students do not return to campus following a vacation until the morning classes resume; thus the campus population will not be in Manhattan until Monday, and nobody will go to the concert.
AND LASTLY, as Phil Wilson was quoted in Wednesday’s Collegian, “They (the ad hoc committee), told me no one wanted to see Olivia Newton-John-.”
This is where the committee’s bucket really holds the water of their decision. They are so right - who in their right mind would want to go see such a raspy-throated, homely female singer such as Olivia Newton-John? My God! what an insult to ask her to perform before an all-but-empty fieldhouse.
We truly believe that this newly-formed committee is off to a good start in making sure the students are not “screwed” by attending a concert not handled by professionals at the Union.
AND RUMOR has it the A-Council has made preliminary arrangements to bring Bachman Turner Overdrive to campus later this spring and the Carpenters next fall. We strongly urge the president’s ad hoc concerts committee to veto these proposed concerts for we know they can find more valid reasons, like those mentioned above, to protect us students from those “non-professionals” in Athletic Council.
Wayne Converse. Graduate in agricultural-economics, and six other students.
Editor. To those concert-conscious people:
Please tell us who it is that didn’t want to see Olivia Newton John!
Besides being practically sacreligious to turn down Olivia’s concert, the decision to refuse it was based on the most asinine reasons to ever leave the south end of a north-bound bull. Those reasons were that “no one wanted to see Olivia” and the fact that Helen Reddy’s concert was less than spectacular.
Dealing with the first, have you ever spent time listening to the radio or walking through the Union? In a one-hour period one afternoon this week, Olivia’s lovely voice echoed through the halls of the Union from the coffee shop five times. But, this is only because students and are masochistic and love listening to things they hate.
THE REASON Helen Reddy’s concert wasn’t that successful was due to the simple fact that it was scheduled at a terrible time.
Within one week. K-State was offering Reddy, the Harlem Globetrotters, and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Helen’s tickets were the most expensive, so students opted for the less expensive entertainment. How often in it K-State has a choice like that? Grow up. Just because you got burnt once is no reason to go lock yourself in the closet and refuse to come out and play. And take our word for it, Olivia Newton-John would draw bodies. You reconsider and we’ll forgive you. But until then, we hate you honestly hate you.
Harry Kimball, Sophomore in electrical engineering and six other students.
Editor,
To Raney Gilliland, Ron Spangler. Mark Ollington and Dan Beatty, members of the interim comittee to deal with scheduling problems.
I fail to see how you gentlemen could refuse a request by the Athletic Department for an Olivia Newton-John concert. Using the excuse that no one would like to see her, was one of the biggest cop-outs I’ve ever heard of.
HAVE YOU talked to any students on campus lately? Olivia is one of the hottest singers around. The rumor had been going around campus that she was to come here sometime this semester, and people were already planning out how many tickets they were going to get. I just can’t accept “non-attendance” as a good excuse for voting down the concert.
Could your committee’s ex-officio member have had any influence on the way you voted? I dare say he probably did. Just because Union programming hasn’t been able to get a really decent concert in the four semesters I’ve been here, is no reason to thwart the Athletic Council because they would’ve had their second in only one semester. I don’t think anyone would mind spending their money as long as it was for something decent.
Olivia is probably thinking. “Let Me Be There,” while we students are wondering “Have You Never Been Mellow?”
Stu Duncan, Sophomore in general agriculture