Glitch bumps Clinton's broadcast

The reason: Memorial Student Union televisions don't get C-SPAN.

University of Arizona students watched MTV in the Student Union instead of the scheduled C-SPAN broadcast.

Associated Students Federal Relations Director Andrew Hayden said a White House representative told him the broadcast would air on CNN, but a White House spokeswoman said the broadcast was actually on C-SPAN.

The panel discussion on Clinton's race initiative took place in Akron, Ohio and was broadcast nationwide, but at 9:30 a.m., when the broadcast was supposed to begin, about 20 people waited in vain in Heritage Hall.

Signs announced the three television sets were reserved for the broadcast, but students sitting in the area said they didn't come to see the broadcast and said they knew little about it.

"It doesn't make a difference to me that it wasn't shown," said sociology freshman Gavin Murrill.

English junior Chris Stetson said "I'm just here between classes. I didn't know it was on."

Stetson said he would have liked to have seen part of the broadcast, but probably wouldn't have watched all of it.

Hayden said because he received short notice of the meeting and that arrangements were rushed. Not much information on the broadcast and discussion had released, he added.

ASUA planned to air the broadcast in the Student Union and hold a conference for any ongoing discussion in the ASUA conference room, he said.

Instead, Hayden said, ASUA will obtain a copy of the broadcast and air it early in January, inviting students to participate in a discussion afterward.

"I wish this would have gone better," Hayden said.

Clinton announced earlier this year he would be holding town hall meetings in cities and towns across the county to discuss racial problems in America.

This was the first of those meetings.