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Show Relevancy of class the latest 'Issue' issue All the speakers were selected by ASUU. Three were hired from agencies where they have a set price for appearing and the other five were people Dr. Canning and his staff employed. With independent in-dependent speakers, a standard fee from $750 to $1,000 is offered, much less than that of a speaker acquired through an agency. "We are always able to negotiate a price," said Karl Hagland. "And nobody has ever refused." When Contemporary Issues is taught again spring quarter, part of the budget will come from 25 percent of the money made at the Special Events Center at the concerts sponsored by Bud Jack, which should be about $3-4,000. The rest of the amount hasn't been decided yet, and will depend basically on the results of the thorough evaluation being conducted now by Dr. Canning and his staff. Several speakers and groups have already been signed up for spring quarter. There will be a debate between William Kunstler, attorney at-torney for the Chicago 7, and Warren Widner, who is currently the first black mayor of Berkeley. Ramsey Clark will speak of law in America. The New York touring company for "Young, Gifted and Black," a play by Lorrain Hans-bury, Hans-bury, author of "A Raisin in the Sun," will also appear. Plans are underway to schedule a debate on education in America with some university presidents and a ' writer. The urban crisis is a tentative topic with a debate between and architect and an expert in urban politics. Women's Liberation or the future of the family, and a combination performance and lecture on music are also being considered for presentations. By KACY TREADWAY Chronicle Staff ' -e the issues relevant? Are the ' eakers really worth it? Do the scussion groups help students ' ime to grips with the problems further alienate them? t an informal evaluation of the ntemporary issues Class under Ray Canning, professor of , biology, these were some of the (tiding factors as to the merit of i;e class. Opinions of students on ( b class varied as much as the ir;:tures given. t ,ere speakers were concerned, lb me felt they skirted the issues i!', rambled with no definite goal. he real issues were neglected. Hie Fortas came close but didn't V:t the real issue of equal antice'said Max Coff. When Bill rissell spoke, one student d scribed it thus. .."He started at ? e point and went in a zig-zag lorttern with no definite goal in 2nd." His talk was "this is my .isr ncess story." Another student eifd, "Bill Russell presented no w ideas; what he said was a jenglomeration of other people, a t the exposure to his per-n per-n lafity was valuable. He was pertaining and gave something jsk. everybody." ne students felt that several of ; speakers talked about related topics other than ) at was listed in the curriculum. o, they discussed subjects they ren't qualified for subjects t of their specialty. "George lid's speech 'Is Freedom Dying America?' was sidetracked," slfcnmented one student, "He l a serious considered opinion es. ; he was out of his specialty, so i it valid?" ,KJ the other side, "If people 1(j ne with open minds, they got e j.iething. Each person has his latrn area of interest, so there was y.neone for everyone," stated ,ani ier Ocknich. "Ballet West was ap,)d exposure, bring ballet to jerie people who haven't seen it jjIjj,, their own. The presentation tee a good way for people to m,ter understand it," said a 1S1dent. :au-e student thought the subjects tare too dry, that they were more bland than in the spring. And suddenly like firecrackers a load of suggestions were popped off. How about Women's Lib? Or a debate between an Arab and a Jew, or labor and management? Or how about having a speaker that most people violently disagree with, for variation, like George Wallace? Some complained com-plained that local questions weren't covered and they would like to see more concern for them. One student suggested having an expert on the athletic fund speak. The reading matter required of students on each speaker brings the listener up to date. "The reading helps the student understand un-derstand the reasoning of the speaker. He is prepared, not off-guard. off-guard. He can relate with the speaker," said one student. But several people felt that the reading matter needed more screening because some of it wasn't relevant to the topics. The discussion groups were "good interaction" for some and "too general" for others. "Some discussions were too general, but specifics require more knowledge." Some felt they "moved too fast" and were "too rigid." But with the variety of people, including some older people from the community, many opinions came out. The grades for the class were based on papers written by students on topics discussed but the discussion groups were also graded, and according to Karl Hagland, a discussion leader, "they were a mild deciding factor." When a student's grade teetered between two slots, the grades from the discussion group determined which way it would fall. So an added incentive for speaking out was given. The budget for Contemporary Issues determined the number and quality of speakers available the class. The budget was $25,000 more was expected but because the amount was limited the number of speakers had to be reduced. Karl Hagland said, "We wanted more panels instead of one-sided lectures, but the lack of money wouldn't allow it." |