On display at Carolina Productions’ “town hall” meeting Monday night was an array of voodoo numbers. By citing that 13,000 individuals attended CP events during the 2009-2010 school year, the executive board tried to make the case that more students attended their events than football games. Since CP apparently can’t understand large numbers, here’s a small one: nine. That was how many people attended its meeting, which was supposed to provide a forum for students to give it feedback in the wake of the Jenny Sanford controversy. Three of those attendees were Daily Gamecock staff members, and one was Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Jerry Brewer.
Those few who attended were treated to a patronizing PowerPoint that attempted to counter CP’s critics. One slide stated that for the $20 in activity fees each student pays for CP, one could only buy three Beezer’s sandwiches and three drinks. The real upset comes from what is bought with the combined $20 of the entire student body. We’d rather have three Godfathers and three Pepsis than Jenny Sanford.
The hilariously low attendance and the pretentious tone epitomized CP’s biggest problem: lack of communication with students. This discussion was poorly advertised — its best PR was a notice The Daily Gamecock ran in the paper Monday and a Nov. 16 letter to the editor from the CP president. Was CP’s advertising budget not big enough to promote one of its most important events of the year? Many more than nine students care about getting quality entertainment on campus. The Sanford uproar made it clear that students want their voices heard — they just didn’t know about the forum.
CP should schedule another town hall meeting for next semester, and properly advertise it this time. And, please, conduct a fair poll of students’ interests, rather than just handing out a few sheets at the next scarcely attended poetry reading.