Evan Wright Speaking Engagement
PROPOSAL RESULTS: ON 10/21/08 PROPOSAL WAS DENIED.
May 13, 2008 MEMORANDUM FOR A.S. SENIOR VP / SENATE
FROM: Robert Stevenson: President, Biola Marines John Sirjord: President, College Republicans, Biola Chapter Athena Fleming: President, College Democrats, Biola Chapter
SUBJECT: Proposal to A.S. Senate for November 1, 2008 Speaking Engagement
1. Proposal: A speaking event at Biola by Evan Wright. Mr. Wright is the author of Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War. This award-winning best-seller is an account of a Marine platoon in combat on the front lines of the war in Iraq. Wright is also a contributing editor to Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair, and has also written features for Time magazine, ESPN magazine, the LA Weekly, Men’s Journal and the New York Times. Generation Kill is also the basis of a seven-part HBO miniseries, which aired in 2008. Wright served as both a writer and consulting producer for the miniseries. Event #1 will be a luncheon/lecture on journalism and politics. All Biola students are invited to attend this event as a part of the larger Biola Journalism Conference. Admission to the conference, including both lectures, lunch and an entire day of lectures and breakout sessions costs $10 for students. (The cost to the journalism to put on the luncheon alone, without the speaker, is $11 per student) Location: Café Banquet Room. Attendance 150+ (Possibly more with location change) Speakers Dinner: Mr. Wright will dine with a small number of faculty and students. This event, although critical to the overall success of the project, will not be funded by AS or Biola Marines. The dinner is co-sponsored by the HIST/GOV/POLI-SCI department and the Torrey program. Event #2 will be an exposition of the state of the modern American military force fighting in Iraq, a subject about which Mr. Wright is the best public expert in the world. Location: Sutherland Auditorium; Attendance: 800+ Additional Possible Events: As the journalism conference takes shape, Mr. Wright may be asked to sit on panel discussions, or take on other, similar responsibilities. We anticipate that this will not raise his fee.
2. Amount Requested: $2,575
3. Problems with the Status Quo: a. Although Biola prides itself on social awareness and involvement with the world around us, most Biola students know very little about the war in Iraq and know even less about the nature of the American Military. Moreover, past events have shown that Biola students have an appetite for events that discuss social and political issues, especially the Military, despite the fact that such events are not a part of the University’s curriculum. b. Biola is not taken seriously as an institution of highly learning in many academic fields, including political science, military studies and –to a lesser extent– journalism. This event will establish credibility for the institution by making Biola a destination for academic thought for students of other local universities (a global center for Christian thought not only in name but in deed), by an aggressive media campaign to spread the word about Biola’s high-caliber education throughout the nation, and by increasing the appetite for intellectual discourse among Biola students.