Dear Editor:
Barbara Ehrenreich gave me hope. She spoke of many ideas, ranging from lowering the legal drinking age to increasing the 'living wage' in this country. She covered many topics outside of the subject of socioeconomic status, the main topic of the book she came to discuss. This award-winning author spoke to the crowd in Emens Auditorium about taking action and letting the government know that college students and their opinions are a force with which to be reckoned.-á
What upset me was the action taken by representatives of Ball State after Ms. Ehrenreich finished speaking. I understand that there needs to be a time limit to events and that we didn't want to keep the author there until midnight, but I watched the Freshman Connections assistants in some of the residence halls become frustrated with the lack of attendance. I was saddened to see the university dampen what little participation was being attempted.
When the speaker concluded, about two-thirds of the audience stood up and left.-áThe few who did stay had questions or a sincere interest in the topic. About 10 people asked questions of the author from microphones, but the last three people in line were asked to sit and talk to her later.
If lines had been pouring out the back of the seating area and into the lobby, I could understand the organizers' concern. In a situation where there are often events planned and attended by not one person, however, I would think that the extra three people's participation in the Q&A session would be appreciated and encouraged. I understand that there is much more going on behind the scenes than surface appearances would suggest, but this lack of university support for student-guest speaker interaction was just a little discouraging.
Trish Atwater
junior
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