BSG cancels fall lecture

Brockport Student Government (BSG) announced Monday, Oct. 22 the Tucker Max lecture originally scheduled for Oct. 2 has been cancelled.

After the death of Brockport student Alexandra Kogut, the lecture was postponed in a decision made by both BSG and Tucker Max.

According to a statement by BSG posted via Facebook, BSG decided to cancel the event to give Brockport “time to heal.”

“In light of recent events and BSG’s desire to help our campus heal, we have decided to look for different lectures and events,” BSG said in a statement. “Max was more than willing to work with us and understands that this is a challenging time for our community.”

BSG President Samantha Wheeler said the decision to cancel the lecture was made last week, but BSG chose to hold the announcement until the box office was prepared to refund the 422 tickets sold.

Wheeler said it was the executive board of BSG that initiated the cancellation. Wheeler, Vice President Brian Witmer and Treasurer Sandy Evans made the final decision.

“It is a hard time for the campus,” Wheeler said. “We are ready to move and heal.”

When the lecture was initially postponed, it was Max who contacted BSG offering the chance to reschedule in light of the recent events.

“Our original goal for the lecture was to teach people not to judge a book by its cover,” said Evans.

Max, who is a lecturer and best-selling author, is best known for his stories in the fratire genre.

His book titles include I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, Assholes Finish First, Hilarity Ensues and Sloppy Seconds. All depict different stories from Max’s life.

BSG will be refunding all tickets at the BSG box office. Max could not be reached for comment.

BSG paid Tucker Max $20,000 out of the $39,500 yearly lecture budget to come speak at the college.

Max returned $10,000 of the original money.

Wheeler said the money not used for the cancelled lecture will be put toward the next lecture, which will happen in the spring.

Programming Director Nick Morticelli said BSG is aiming to spend around $20,000  for the spring lecture and will only use the extra money if needed to secure a bid.

Morticelli said BSG would put the money not used toward programming for different clubs on campus.

The survey for the spring lecture was released two weeks ago. Morticelli said BSG released a preliminary survey first, followed by a more specific second survey.

“The first survey was sent out and used to get more suggestions,” Morticelli said.

 The final survey includes possible lecture choices such as Hope Solo (USA women’s national team soccer goalie), Bruce Jenner (Olympian gold medalist) and PostSecret (the man behind the third most popular blog on the Internet.)
“The surveys are done because I like to get students’ input,” Morticelli said. “It is a good way to collectively get information.”

Morticelli also said the second survey included a new comment section where students can give more feedback.

The lecture options come from a result of student opinion and who Morticelli and the BSG programming board are interested in bringing to the school.

As of Monday, Oct. 22 PostSecret was first in the student survey results, followed by Hope Solo. Morticelli said BSG plans to make its bid on the speaker this week.


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