Dawkins lecture moved to larger venue due to demand

We commend the faculty members involved in bringing Richard Dawkins to campus on March 6.

Barry Weaver, a geology professor who is largely responsible for initiating efforts to have Dawkins give a public lecture, announced Friday that the venue for Dawkins’ public lecture has been changed from the Paul F. Sharp Concert Hall in the Catlett School of Music to McCasland Field House, which has a capacity of 3,300 people.

This is a great move by Weaver and other involved faculty members.

Dawkins, the former Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University who now writes about religion and philosophy, is arguably the most famous and controversial figure in academia. His stop at OU is part of a U.S. tour that will last less than two weeks. Students deserve a chance to see Dawkins and hear his arguments. McCasland should provide sufficient space.

The announcement came exactly one week after we suggested the venue be moved since tickets for the event were gone less than 30 minutes after they were made available to students.

Weaver also announced that any tickets for the event are now invalid, and that seats will be awarded strictly on a first come, first served basis.

This is another great move.

Previously, select faculty members and graduate students were offered tickets before they were made available to the public, which left about half of the total tickets available for undergraduate students to fight for. There’s no reason faculty members and students in certain departments should have all the seats they want prior to the rest of the student body, faculty and staff.

Eliminating tickets also removes the possibility of students selling them online. Students who want to go should not have to pay, especially since thousands of dollars have already been spent by the university.

Weaver and others deserve praise for putting the needs of students and faculty first.

Dawkins will speak March 6 at 7 p.m in McCasland Fieldhouse.