Editor, Daily Nexus,

The Arts & Lectures program needs to reexamine its priorities, and I would like to inform you of the misuse of its funding, against student interests.

B.B. King is an American cultural icon, and the UCSB-sponsored Arts & Lectures program should prefer to expose students to such events in order to foster greater artistic, cultural and historical learning. Intellectually hungry students often do not have their own funds to gain such exposure. Instead of appealing to such students, Arts &Lectures reserved the $25 student tickets for less than 10 percent of the seating. Moreover, these student seats are relegated to the very back rows of the auditorium. Therefore, any student not in this very small fraction, and any student lacking telescopic vision, must pay $75 or more to attend this event.

So, who will attend this and other such events at the university? The wealthy – comprised mostly of non-students and those old enough to have grown up with B.B. King and therefore already aware of his influence. Clearly, the event is not being targeted for the good of the students, whose funds support Arts &Lectures.

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