Dalai Lama tickets won't be in short supply

When His Holiness the Dalai Lama makes his anticipated visit to UB this fall, university officials will do their best to make sure every student will have a chance to hear him speak at what will be the first installment of next year's Distinguished Speakers Series.

The exiled Tibetan leader's lecture, "Promoting Peace Across Borders Through Education," will be held at the UB Stadium as the highlight of his three-day visit in September.

To make attending the lecture easier for students, faculty and staff, all regular classes will be suspended on the day of the speech, as a "special day of learning."

Tickets to faculty and staff will go on sale May 8. On May 22, those registered with the UB Web site for the visit (http://www.buffalo.edu/dalai_lama) will be able to purchase tickets online with prices ranging from $15 to $40. Registration is free.

General sales to the public will be available starting May 30. Student tickets already reserved will be available in the fall.

William Regan, director of Special Events, said ticket distribution for this year's Distinguished Speakers' finale, Conan O'Brien, has been a learning experience.

"Student access to tickets is and will continue to be a priority for administration and the student governments," he said.

Regan also said that maximum numbers of tickets will be allocated to students, and the distribution of those tickets will be enhanced.

Although the undergraduate student choice speaker for the 2006-07 school year has not yet been, and will not be decided until students have a chance to make suggestions and vote in polls, His Holiness the Dalai Lama is probably not a candidate for the position, according to Student Association President-elect Viqar Hussain,

"I see him as more pertaining to the graduate and professional crowd," Hussain said.

According to Hussain, a lot of deliberation goes into the selection for the student choice distinguished speaker, and he believes someone more comically entertaining would better interest undergraduates, such as Conan O'Brien or Bill Cosby have in the past.

"I would go to see the Dalai Lama speak," he said, "but that's just me, I'm an intellectual kid."

Events including art exhibits, a book fair, a film screening, a workshop on nonviolent conflict resolution and a lecture by a Tibetan monk all have already been planned to coincide with the visit from His Holiness.