To the Editor:
The coincidence of Dan Galemba '03's column, "A Shaker of Salt," and community member Ray Hood, Jr.'s letter, "A Hop Divided," appearing in The Dartmouth's Sept. issue has been noted by all of us at the Hopkins Center. It affords me the opportunity to acquaint each author -- and the broader community -- with the economic realities of the Hop's visiting performing artist program.
The Hop is not, as Mr. Galemba suggested, "throwing tuition dollars" into this program, which is largely self-sufficient. Since the last round of budget cuts inthe early '90s, there has been no direct College subvention to this program until recently, under the auspices of the Student Life Initiative. The result is a reasonable student ticket price to Hop events, facilitating access to these programs as a significant part of the out-of-classroom experience.
This subsidized student ticket price of $3 for student performances and $5 for events in the visiting performance artist series is available to all full-time Dartmouth students with a current ID. Last year nearly 25,000 tickets were sold to students for the Hop's film, student and visiting performance artist programs; over 3,000 additional students participated in outreach activities.
Current ticket prices, however, do not begin to cover the cost of these performances. That cost is underwritten by the income from designated endowments, from box office revenue and funds from alumni, corporations and foundations. Therefore, both students and community members benefit from the heavily discounted ticket price. As might be imagined, the quantity and quality of events would suffer seriously without the support of the broader community.
In regard to ticket availability for students, the Hop sends the season brochure to students' homes each August, with the exception of those students with foreign addresses. The schedule and purchasing information is also available from our website, and increasingly, students are placing orders before they arrive on campus. It is possible, in fact, for students to be in the majority at any Hop program.
Unfortunately, at these low prices, many students do not feel compelled to use the tickets they have purchased; the Sept. 26 performance by Wynton Marsalis had a significant number of student "no shows" which prevented other students from attending. We must wonder if these tickets are being undervalued by many student patrons.
Given the relatively small size of our venues (the Moore Theatre seats 500, Spaulding Auditorium seats 900), and a student body of over 5,000, demand will always exceed supply for certain events. Balancing the needs of Dartmouth students and other valued constituencies will continue to be a challenge. My colleagues and I will continue discussions on issues of both access and ticket price, and constructive input will always be welcomed.
