The Celebration of Diversity Distinguished Lecture Series is the best-kept secret at Butler University.
The series is funded by Eli Lilly and the mayor’s office, among other sponsors, but little promotion is done outside of the Butler Connection.
The series has been going for 25 seasons, but despite featuring nationally-known speakers, I do not hear as much buzz about the series on campus.
Common and Maya Angelou are scheduled to come to Butler this semester, yet the hype on campus is non-existent.
Common will be here on tommorrow, and the lecture will be free, but most of campus probably does not know.
If he were here to perform a concert, everyone would know.
Just because he is an entertainer does not depreciate his experiences and thoughts on life.
He has authored award-winning books and lectured at various colleges nationwide. His intellectual reputation is just as good as his musical one.
The series aims to invite a wide variety of lecturers, so many demographics are represented.
Last semester Lt. Dan Choi came to speak about his experience as a homosexual in the Army and his role in repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
With Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the inaguration of the first black president just passed and with Black History Month on our doorstep, Butler could have easily promoted the next lecture coming up on Thursday.
Using the star power of the lectures to further our education could have been an easy way to get the word out.