Student prices should be lower
As a person who tries to stay balanced, I do my best to keep art infused in my life on a regular basis. It’s a good thing I live in somewhat of a metropolis, as shoddy as it may be. Columbia’s scene is enough to provide a decent blend of art.
As evidenced by the strong protest to Gov. Nikki Haley’s slashing of funding for art, our generation is far from being artistically indifferent. On the contrary, many of us strive to seek that form of expression and use it for personal or cultural analysis. But the sad fact of the matter is that the cost of doing so is oftentimes more than we can afford.
Performances that are free or of little cost usually always yield a good audience, mostly composed of students. But as I sat in the Longstreet Theatre this weekend at a half-priced 11 p.m. performance of a Russian play, I heard a student behind me say, “I really wish I could see [“Play X”], but I can’t afford a $25 ticket.” I sympathized completely. A free Stravinsky performance last month at the USC School of Music was so full that I couldn’t get in. An orchestral concert that charged ticket prices of $35 at the Koger Center drew an almost nonexistent student population.
True, we do have things like free movies at the Russell House or free visits to the Columbia Museum on Sundays, but there are other local ongoings that should consider being a little more cost-friendly to students. If a performance company gave larger student discounts to reduce event prices to $10 or less, it would draw a much larger student audience and the revenue gained would remain about the same. At the orchestra concert, the auditorium was half empty, and I couldn’t help but think about how many more could have filled those seats. It’s a sad dilemma when students have to sacrifice what they can gain from art because of monetary cost.