Pack Howl will deliver best show for less
As usual Technician has taken its standard approach in critiquing some element of Homecoming and more specifically the Pack Howl Pep Rally and Concert. It is easy to say ECU brought this or another University brought this group for their Homecoming concert.
However, Technician is not comparing apples to apples. The Student Activities Board at ECU receives around $400,000 in student fees. At N.C. State, Homecoming receives no money through a guaranteed student fee. Homecoming is 100 percent funded through the Alumni Association and through sponsors like Student Government, Dining, Wolfpack Club, Athletics, N.C. State Bookstores, Housing and several more.
As I stated several times in my interview with the Technician, the goal of the Pack Howl Concert is to keep it as inexpensive as possible for students and to bring the largest number of students out. When looking for an act for Pack Howl not many groups want to perform on our terms. This means our specific date, our specific venue, our specific budget and our specific requirements (as inexpensive as possible for students). Also,
if you find an act that is not touring in the area to do an off tour act it can cost an additional $10,000 or more to have them fly in.
So, why the comedy act? When looking at all of our different options we made the call to bring the CollegeHumor Tour. We believe it will bring the most students compared to other alternatives. CollegeHumor is a common name in the residence halls and most college students’ computers. We also added a local music option. This is in addition to the student organizations that will perform. We believe with the combination of
these three elements Pack Howl will reach the most students possible.
So, why not the caliber Common and N.E.R.D. type act? It basically boils down to risk. These acts were a huge risk in the past. The risk was taken to bring these acts and hope that ticket sales would cover the cost, but student and general public ticket sales did not turn out to allow these acts to break even.
I am confident that we have made the best decision based on our goals of attracting the most students at the lowest cost to them to. As always, we welcome students to get involved in Homecoming. I am confident that this years’ Homecoming 2009, “Terminate the Terps,” will be the best yet. I encourage everyone to come out and get involved! Let’s show our team we are behind them and our alumni that we have the same pride they
had during their days on the bricks of N.C. State.
Adam G. Compton
2009 Homecoming Chair
Breaking down economics of recycling
The recent article about the ban of plastic bottles and other items from landfills, encouraging recycling of these items, overlooks some crucial aspects about how benefits are passed along through the economy. Scott Mouw is quoted as saying that the ban will benefit the economy by supplying new jobs in the recycling and re-manufacturing business. Obviously with the N.C. unemployment rate over 10 percent, jobs are welcome. But are the costs of these jobs taken into account?
Unfortunately, no. Too often people believe that legislation creating new jobs is good for the economy. This only looks at the benefits and not costs. It could merely transfer jobs from one part of the economy to another. The jobs Mouw references will come from businesses that process new materials at a cheaper rate than most recycled materials (aluminum being the notable exception) and go to government provided recycling services. The cost to you is your taxpayer dollars financing these jobs.
To demonstrate this ban benefits the economy, you would have to show that the net costs of the ban are less than the net costs of trashing recyclables. This may be true, but is certainly hard to demonstrate. What is true is that recycling is not as cost-efficient as many eco-groups would have you believe. If it were, no government mandate would be necessary, as business would be seeking these materials to reduce their own costs. So this ban may add jobs, but it may also eliminate jobs and raise costs as well.
Jacob Burgdorf
senior, economics
