Students should write, call for Neil Young

Dear Editor:

I had previously written a letter to the editor about trying to attract Neil Young to Kent’s Remembrance Day ceremonies on May 4. In that article, I outlined why I thought Neil Young should play at Kent State, and I went on telling the university to “try harder” and to “think big.” Since I have written that article, my personal investigation into this matter has uncovered a few things that I would like to be the first to present to set the record straight.

I had forwarded my letter to the May 4 Task Force and they quickly replied. The members informed me that attempts have been made for the past 34 years to try to get Neil Young to perform here at Kent State for these ceremonies. I found this comforting because it showed me that they have been thinking big, but their efforts have simply been in vain. To anyone who knows me, they know that I am a huge Neil Young fan. Because of this, I do not find it surprising in the least that Mr. Young has chosen not to grace Kent State with his presence. He is not the kind of guy to do things he doesn’t want to do — he acts for himself and himself alone. It would truly be a weight on his shoulders to do this for us; it would not be “just another concert.”

My personal investigation also led me to some contact information regarding Neil Young’s management, his publicist and his booking agent. After numerous contact attempts, my e-mails have gone unanswered — though technology has shown me that they were read. I promised to those I contacted that I would continue to pursue this until I was at least given a reply. Without a reply, I assume that a little more pushing is in order. In my last letter to the Stater, you may recall that I asked you, the students, to write a letter to your student senators enticing them to actively pursue this. This is not necessary and I was wrong to direct you to do so I was unaware that the university had made so many past attempts and that it was Mr. Young’s camp that was the bottleneck in this effort.

The true purpose of this follow-up letter is not only to give credit where credit is due, but to redirect and reinforce the efforts of those students who are interested in this. I am asking all of you who are remotely interested to write an e-mail to Marsh Vlasik, who arranges Mr. Young’s tour schedules. It is my belief that Kent State’s only chance of getting Neil Young to perform is if she is bombarded by student interest. It is possible that our efforts will be in vain — don’t expect too much. However, I cannot predict the actions of Neil Young and his people. I hope that if enough interest surfaces, Ms. Vlasik will be forced to at least address the issue with Mr. Young — and that one thread of hope should be enough to convince students to send at least one e-mail per day to [email protected]. Also, tell your friends who may not read this letter. Sometimes it’s grass-roots campaigns like this that produce results.

Greg Cieslik

Junior computer information systems major

Americans don’t cause starvation, they help it

Dear Editor:

Fat Americans eating meat are not the reason why third-world children are starving. In fact, the opposite is true. Americans are the No. 1 reason that most of the world gets to eat. Ever heard of a Nobel Prize winner named Dr. Norman Borlaug? He was a microbiologist and humanitarian who helped feed more than 1 billion people through genetic engineering and advancements in horticulture. He is just one of many Americans who have helped billions of starving children around the world survive — but I guess you think he’s one of the bad guys because he eats meat. Who looks like the unethical one now?

Olsen Ebright

Alumnus, class of 2004