Editor:

Craig Westphal's recent letter (Feb. 6, "Speakers fee could be better used") asserting that Cornel West's recent visit and speech to the university community was "a luxury the university can do without," is an example of the common price-tag logic apparent in many arguments of ultimate worth these days.

While noting that "enlightenment" doesn't have a fixed cost, Westphal goes on to suggest that he does in fact find the monetary value of the event less than the fee paid and is thus dissatisfied. Had the amount been half, would that have been less objectionable? That West would donate the money to a scholarship fund is considered "ironic" while pocketing it wouldn't be? One of the more surprising points of the letter is the comparison made with other useful items as if the money comes from one giant bank account. Unlike Westphal, I don't know much accounting but perhaps Westphal's calculations fail to account for the fact that a number of different departments and offices pooled resources to bring West here. Perhaps Westphal didn't bother attending since he seems unaware that the mentality of market one-dimensionality apparent in his critique was in fact commented on by West.

It's fine for Westphal to have his notions of how money could be spent but the targeting of a man of West's intellectual persuasion is not likely to be as random a critique of "distinguished speakers" as it might appear. If the argument is reduced to the monetary significance of West's visit (the Wildcat''s initial cursory mention of West on Jan. 29 in the "Quote of the Day" regarding the figure should also be noted), the other pressing and dynamic themes raised by West can simply be ignored.

Westphal's account illustrates more of the robbing Peter to pay Paul economic "worth" hyperbole, which characterizes the present political climate of spending cuts and budget management while failing to contribute to a dialogue for building a possible social consensus on many of the issues such as racism, community and democracy raised by West.

Bill Bradley
education graduate student