LETTER: Novak event was a success

To the editor:

    Opinions were split on the BJ Novak event last week; unfortunately the article that covered it only gave us one side of the split.  But was it really as much of a disaster as some say? Let’s be realistic about some of the complaints.

    “If they’re going to spend so much money, they should get an act everyone can enjoy.”

    Okay, is that even possible?  Because it sounds illegal. Is there any one thing that all college students enjoy (besides complaining/having opinions about things)? There has never been an arts and lectures event at USU that appealed to/accommodated even half of the student body.  To say that the BJ Novak event was bad programming based on a standard of universal likeability and full attendance is just ridiculous. By that standard, every event ever planned at this University has been a failure. Yikes.

    “I didn’t want to pay to see a low-level comedian.”

    Really? Or are you more of a, “I don’t want to pay for most things,” kind of person? To say Novak is a low-level comedian is a bit like saying Stan Albrecht is an undeclared freshman.  Consider Novak’s career. The guy is in his seventh season of writing for a comedy show on NBC (a network that gets special attention for having an itchy finger on the “cancel” button).  That alone shows that he has certainly surpassed the “low level” stage in his comedy writing. Come on.

    “The event wasn’t sold out.”

    That’s a shame. But do we ever sell out anything besides sporting events? Following that logic we should just do away with arts and lectures altogether and watch basketball games year round. You’re next drama department.

    Listen, programming activities for about 17,000 students is tough. When considering a high-profile act, they can’t please everyone. But the best chance at pleasing most people is to go with a mainstream act. Although many students pretend to hate anything mainstream because they’re just “doin’ their own thing man,” mainstream acts are popular for a reason – they entertain the most people. By booking a comedian from a popular program like The Office, the event planners increased their odds of pleasing as many people as possible. And it was a great show.

    Bottom line: the Novak event made sense. We got a well-known performer to come to USU, he gave an awesome show, and he wasn’t an Osmond. Success.

Trevor Blackwell