I see where next up (Jan. 20) in the USF Lecture Series is Grammy-winning rapper/social activist Killer Mike.
It took me back to my days as USF media relations manager and a member of the University Lecture Series committee. On occasion, I would pick up a speaker at TIA and, if necessary, conversationally introduce them to USF and Tampa Bay. Some, to be sure, were more interesting and engaging than others. The most memorable: Timothy Leary, P.J. O’Rourke, Andrew Young, Spike Lee, William F. Buckley Jr., Michael Dukakis and Dinesh D’Souza.
* Leary, years removed from LSD, if not lingering after-effects, was scattered, funny and irreverent. I would have liked to have met him in his Harvard prime. I don’t know who enjoyed the press conference more: the press, me or Leary. His colorful-chaotic-life slideshow was anti-climatic after his “OK-guys-but-this-is-absolutely-the-last-question-for-Dr. Leary” press conference.
* The humorist O’Rourke was riding a wave of pop-culture acclaim with “Parliament of Whores,” his sardonic take on the U.S. government. His small talk wasn’t funny, just pleasantly reserved. His presentation, a few hours later, was anything but.
* Young, civil rights icon, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and ex-mayor of Atlanta was low-key and classy. Always impressive when important people are not self-important.
* Lee, who was beyond well-compensated, couldn’t make the effort to prepare. He knew his audience would be fan-laden and fawning. He began by saying that since everybody knew his works, the most recent of which were “Jungle Fever” and “Malcolm X,” he would just take questions. Lame. His press conference, typically defined as part of the contract agreement, was perfunctory and dismissive. Call it, ironically, a drive-by lecture.
* I was, frankly, expecting “Firing Line” posturing and maybe a hint of pomposity, but with Buckley I got an unpretentious and casual mien. I remember he wanted to know why the University of South Florida wasn’t further south. I regaled him with the relevant history that included Congressman Sam Gibbons’ role in the self-serving, if geographically inaccurate, name–in order to win far-reaching legislative help. He loved it.
* Dukakis also did an interview for WUSF Radio. Before hand, he chatted with staff members. The former Massachusetts governor who lost the presidential election to George H.W. Bush in 1988, was downright deferential and asked most of the questions. He seemed genuinely interested in who everybody was and what their hopes were–not just their political takes. How many politicians, a few years removed from a presidential run, would be asking the questions?
* D’Souza was an inclusive sop to conservatives. A research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former policy adviser to President Ronald Reagan, the Mumbai, India native had recently authored “Illiberal Education: The Politics of Race and Sex on Campus.” He was reserved in manner, dry in humor–and combative. He knew black students resented his brown skin/right-wing-views combination. He reveled in their disdain. He gave better than he got from an audience dotted with argumentative, Black Student Union members. No lack of sound bites for the media that night.
But that was then–and this is not.