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Location: http://the.ricethresher.org/opinion/2005/08/26/dalai_lama_visit

August 26, 2005 > Opinion > Tickets for defining Rice moment available now

Tickets for defining Rice moment available now

By The Rice Thresher Editorial Staff | Thresher Editorial Staff

Students should drop everything to see the Dalai Lama speak in late September. And faculty should let students skip class, if necessary, to do so. In fact, faculty should close down their classrooms and go themselves.

Arguably, the Dalai Lama’s will be the most exciting speeches given at Rice in many years. It’s not often that the leader of a country in exile or the leader of a faith comes here, and the Dalai Lama is both.

He is speaking twice on Sept. 22 in Autry Court — at 10 a.m. and again at 2 p.m. Tickets will become available to the general public Sept. 1, but until then, they are available exclusively to Rice students, faculty, alumni and staff, free of charge. Students and others can pick up one or two tickets to either speech weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Athletic Ticket Office in Autry Court.

For students, high attendance will provide more than the obvious educational and “coolness” benefits (how many people have been in the same room as the Dalai Lama?). A high turnout will also signal that students are serious enough about campus speeches to deserve a meaningful voice in the 2006 commencement speaker selection process. On the other hand, if students do not attend this international icon’s speech in large numbers, not only will we have affirmed our general apathy, but we also will have no legitimacy with which to weigh in on future campus speeches or potential speakers — like the one coming to (or from?) Rice on May 13.

So get your tickets Friday or early next week while they are still restricted to the Rice community.

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