Discuss “Lecture series would benefit from better PR”

Readers may have noticed that, starting this semester, The Tartan has published a weekly column previewing upcoming campus lectures. In an effort to alert students, faculty, and staff to interesting speakers and lecture topics, the paper encourages writers to pick lectures they find appealing.

What The Tartan didn?t expect was how difficult this column would be to write. The difficulty lies in a key problem identified again and again on this campus ? a failure of centralized communication.

Finding out about interesting lectures and events is hit-or-miss at Carnegie Mellon. Events are frequently publicized with little more than a flyer on a crowded community bulletin board. Departments rarely advertise speakers to anyone other than their...