Upon reading the story about the limited use of Greaves Hall, which appeared in the Jan. 30 issue, I was both appalled and offended.

Greaves Hall is a part of Northern Kentucky University, and should be available for the use of all University members to use like any other room on campus might be.

It’s great that the Music Department has its own lab, but I think it is unacceptable to exclude other areas on campus from using this facility.

The article said that this is an “understanding.”

This statement certainly piqued my curiosity. I wonder who made this alleged understanding and when it supposedly took effect.

This is my fourth year on the Northerner staff and I have never heard of such an “understanding” before this article.

What I do remember, however, is some events others and myself have covered in the past which occurred in Greaves Hall. Where was this understanding then?

The article quoted Dr. Wheaton as saying “I want to make sure it is used in a responsible manner benefiting the university.”

I guess those events were things that Dr. Wheaton deemed appropriate.

I’m still wondering, however, why the comedian for homecoming week was not appropriate.

It’s not like the comedian would have had a lot of equipment that might damage the stage. All comedian routines I have ever seen consist of a comedian, a microphone, and maybe a stool for him to sit on.

I am sure one man on the stage would not be nearly as potentially damaging as the entire Kentucky Symphony, which frequently performs in Greaves, complete with all their instruments.

As far as benefiting the university, I am a bit confused on the issue as well.

I think that it is nice that we allow the Kentucky Symphony to perform in Greaves Hall, but I don’t personally see this as being a benefit to the university.

I don’t agree that the worthiness of an event to be held in Greaves Hall is at the exclusive discretion of the Music Department.

Who gives Dr. Wheaton the authority to make such a decision whether something benefits the university or not.

As a songwriter, it might be nice to occasionally have a singer showcase some of my songs. I think that it would reflect positively on the university to have one of their own students showcase his writing talents.

However, I am sure that would not be considered a “formal” event, because my musical genre of choice is country.

I know I am not the only one on campus who is musically inclined. I have met a great number of extremely talented people that attend NKU.

Since it is by definition a lab for the music department, don’t you think that it should be open to ALL music genres in that respect and just not the “formal” classical genre? I do.

A simple solution to this entire problem would be to create concrete events that are considered acceptable use.

This would certainly count out the guesswork involved.

Maybe then, Greaves Hall can finally be used for the ways it was intended.