University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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LAUGHING MATTER: Comedian Pat Paulsen and for- mer President Gerald Ford share a joke at a speech in the Performing Arts Center. photo by Ted Warren. ON FOR- EIGN POLICY: Former U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpa- trick addresses students at the Bass Concert Hall. photo by Carrie Dawson. OPPOSING VIEW: Mic Paschel, sociology senior, leads a protest against Jeane Kirkpatrick. Paschel and others opposed the cost and the timing of Kirkpatrick ' s speech, which was given several weeks before the pres- idential election. photo by Carrie Dawson 24 Guest speakers

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Building Traditions No matter how high tech our society be- comes, Texas will always be endowed with its rich heritage. The University of Texas has sought to reflect the culture of the Lone Star State through its songs, symbols and, more visibly, through its unique architecture. Many campus buildings are graced with Texas symbols. Brackenridge Dormitory is emblazoned with symbols such as barbed wire, a longhorn and a Bowie knife. Even in the days of super colliders, these symbols are still revered and recognized by students. As Tom Pollard, humanities junior, said, It ' s still the Texas myth. You can ' t kill the cow- boy image. It ' s our culture. Symbols of the Confederacy, however, are not represented in the architecture, although legend has it that all the original buildings faced south in compliance with the wishes of an early UT benefactor and ex-Confederate soldier George W. Littlefield. For college campuses, architects choose styles that reflect the values and lifestyles of the students and faculty. Students find some buildings more conducive to learning simply because they find an atmosphere to which they can relate. A campus should be humane, Richard Garcia, post-professional in architecture, said. It should be for people and not build- ings or statements. Cass Gilbert, the designer of Battle Hall, ushered in the style now so prevalent on campus. It included Spanish elements such as delicate stone carvings, iron railings and red tile roofs to give students a sense of Texas heritage. As a result, we have what you might call a Spanish Renaissance or Med- iterranean style of architecture, Blake Al- exander, professor of architecture, said. This was soon adopted as the major style for campus buildings. Later, architect Paul Cret assimilated the Spanish Renaissance into his designs for the Main Building and the Tower. Cret studied the Beaux-Arts style of architecture in his native France, not at Rice University as popular belief held. Any resemblance between the Tower and an owl, the Rice University mascot, was unintention- al. The Spanish Renaissance was only slightly represented in later buildings. The modern styles tended to rely less on symbolism and more on function, as was evident in the Per- ry-Casteneda Library. Even so, the modern buildings appeal to many students. I like the combination of modern and classical types, Patty Overmyer, electrical engineering junior, said. There are a lot of new people that have modern ideas. This University is so diverse, it ' s kind of sym- bolic. Architects who planned an addition for Goldsmith Hall sought to complement the Spanish Renaissance style of the older build- ing. They designed a structure that bor- rowed many elements from this style but still reflected contemporary trends. The building reopened in Fall 1988 and students respond- ed favorably. There ' s a theme in the campus that was begun, a sort of language, Beth Barnes, post-professional in architecture, said. This building (Goldsmith Hall) sort of plays off that language. It doesn ' t duplicate it exactly. It updates it. If this style continues, future buildings might once again reflect the culture through specific symbols and styles. With Texas tak- ing a prominent place in the high tech world of the late 1980s, it should be interesting to see how new values and lifestyles are rep- resented in future additions to the campus. Wes Reeves The past meets the future in architectural trends around campus, and the results give the University a style all its own The tower at night photo by Ken White Architecture 23

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It ' s been said that experience is a hard teacher; she gives the test first, the lesson after. However, students were able to benefit from the experiences of authors, artists and politicians through the efforts of three or- ganizations that brought guest lecturers to campus. Two groups were lectureships, funded by a combination of student, University and pri- vate donations. These operated out of the College of Liberal Arts and were under the direction of Assistant Dean Barbara McFar- land. The Student Endowed Centennial Lec- tureship was created in 1983 during the Uni- versity ' s centennial year. It took three years to raise an initial amount of $54,000, which the University matched. During the fall of 1988, author Larry McMurtry came for two days of lectures, a workshop and a reception. The lectureship paid $6,000 for McMurtry, McFarland said. The purpose of the lectureship is to get speakers who will interact with students and Larry McMurtry really fit that bill, she said. The other lectureship was the Liz Car- penter Lectureship in the Humanities and Sciences which was funded by endowments of Liz Carpenter, who was press secretary to Lady Bird Johnson, and her friends. This lectureship attracted various speakers in- volved in politics and women ' s interests. During the fall of 1988, former President Gerald Ford came to the University, along with Pat Paulsen and Jim Morris to speak in a series entitled Is Politics a Laughing Mat- ter? Speakers were also brought to the Uni- versity by the Student Union under the Dis- tinguished Speakers Series. The speaker se- ries was run by a committee of students, headed by a chairperson. The Union financed the speakers series, like the rest of its organizations, mostly through retail sales, and actually relied very little on fees from students. The Union earns about 90 percent of its money through sales and about 1 percent is from the students, said Chairman John Hanke, Plan II senior, said. The budget for the series was determined after budgets from all areas in the Union were received, evaluated and usually hashed out Hanke said. In 1989 the series had an operating budget of about $2 1 ,000. The Union generated some controversy with the appearance of former UN ambas- sador Jeane Kirkpatrick. Some felt her $22,500 price tag was too high, while others disputed the timing of her visit so close to the 1988 presidential election. The controversy was a bit muddled since there were two issues involved: her views and what we paid for her, Hanke said. Kirkpatrick ' s original honorarium was $25,000. Although many students protested that this cost was too high, Hanke defended the Union ' s decision, saying that speakers of her caliber demanded a high price. Both the Centennial Lectureship and the Union speakers series used a detailed process to find speakers. The lectureship distributed ballots to students on the West Mall, while committee members of the Union series nominated and debated possible choices among themselves. McFarland and Hanke both said that schedule conflicts and high fees made some speakers hard to get. Nevertheless, the Un- ion ' s schedule for 1989 included Jeane Kirkpatrick, Mario Cuomo, Dith Pran (whose life was portrayed in The Killing Fields ) and Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Michelle Ross Guest lecturers share their wit and wisdom, but controversial speakers and topics have students voicing other opinions Author Larry McMurtry photo by Carrie Dawson Guest speakers 25