UW-Oshkosh uses student fees to get speakers to come to campus, but some speakers cost more than others.
“The last two University Speaker Series events, Paranormal State and the Pornography Debate, were sold out,” David Rathsack, chairman of the University Speaker Series, said.
About 850 students went to see Paranormal State with Ryan Buell on Oct. 21, and about 900 students were present at the Pornography Debate on Nov. 11.
Rathsack explained that the committee looked at a student survey to find out what students were interested in and what they wanted to bring to campus.
“Because we’re student-funded through (segregated) fees, we want to represent them as best as possible, and I think we did a really good job this year with their top five picks,” Rathsack said.
This year’s budget for the University Speaker Series is $70,000, with $10,000 earmarked for co-sponsorship of other student organizations who want to bring speakers into their meetings.
Rathsack said that they don’t exceed their budget and are usually right on track.
He added that they can sometimes get discounts when they attend the National Association of Campus Activities conference or by booking two events with the same agency.
For example, both Ryan Buell and the Pornography Debate were through Wolfman Productions, which allowed them to get a discount.
According to documents received after filing a Freedom of Information Act request, Ryan Buell charged $7,700, while Ron Jeremy and Craig Gross were paid $13,700 total for the Pornography Debate.
Harlan Cohen, author of “The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run into in College,” was paid $4,330 to speak as part of the freshmen orientation in September.
Craig Culver, an Oshkosh alumnus and founder of the Culver’s franchise, spoke to students on Sept. 30 and did not charge a fee.
Rathsack said that it’s difficult to bring in really big names because it’s so expensive.
For example, some people expressed interest in seeing Mike Rowe, the host of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel.
However, Rathsack said it would cost about $75,000 to bring in just that one speaker.
He also said they usually have between seven and 10 speakers each school year.
In February, the University Speaker Series is hosting Sex Signals, an improvisational comedy about dating, sex and date rape on college campuses. It will cost $3,200.
In March, journalist John Bowe will talk about the “dark side of the new global economy,” in which he says that modern-day slavery has made its way into the American economy. Oshkosh is giving him $6,500.
In April, Kevin Connolly will talk about “The Rolling Exhibition,” his photography project which includes more than 32,000 pictures from across 15 countries. He will get $5,500.
Elizabeth Royte will also be on campus in April to discuss the problems with an increasingly consumptive global society in her presentation called “Bottlemania: America’s Obsession with Bottled Water.” She will be paid $7,250.
Rathsack said they hope to increase the average number of students attending each event to 350, but it’s difficult to market a lecture series when people spend all day in class.
“We want people to learn and be educated,” Rathsack said.
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