Letter from Dan McCarthy to Sally Souris

TO: Sally Souris FROM: Dan McCarthy RE: SGA Speaker Series Once again I find myself writing to you regarding an SGA event. I was contacted the week of September 15 by Chris Krevow, vice president of SGA to set up a meeting and discuss the SGA Speakers Series publicity. We originally scheduled the meeting for Friday, September 19, but that was cancelled and not rescheduled until Friday, October 3. When we met on Friday, October 3, I was informed that Jeanne Kirkpatrick would be appearing as the first speaker of the series on Sunday, November 2. I told Chris that this was somewhat late notice paricularly since we are going to have to do a lot of work in developing publicity and advertising layouts for newspaper ads. Ifurther told him that I had heard that we were going to have Jeanne Kirkpatrick through official channels only after I had made several inquiries, once receiving that information from Baltimore Magazine. I , in the future, would ask out of courtesy that we be told what the SGA Speakers Series events would be prior to Baltimore Magazine getting the information first. Additionally, one of my concerns is the amount of money being paid Jeanne Kirkpatrick. I realize that this is outside the area of my responsibility but I feel obligated to make comments. I am told that the SGA will be paying $20,000 for Jeanne Kirkpatrick on November 2. Last year at the height of her popularity,I would still suggest that $20,000 was still too much Money. Henry Kissinger can be contracted for $20,000. Again this is not my responsibility, but I have some serious reservations as to this sum of money being paid out of student funds for a speaker who probably will not generate that amount of interest. I look at it from a publicity perspectice that it is going to be difficult to promote an individual such as Jeanne Kirkpatrick when, in fact, her popularity is not what it was last year when she left the position of UN Ambassidor. I would like to sit down with you at some time, in the near future, Sally, and suggest some ideas.