Everyone who was on campus last semester must certainly be tired of reading about Justice Antonin Scalia's controversial visit to the College in the opinion pages of The Amherst Student. Regardless of personal opinion about the visit, however, it did have a profound effect on the campus. His visit prompted a debate that is not often replicated on a campus that could-with some exceptions-be described as apathetic. Leaving thoughts about Justice Scalia's visit aside, we would like to see the type of buzz big-name speakers generate more often, even if it means spending large sums of money to attract them.

Top speakers cost thousands of dollars; Anne Coulter is speaking on Oct. 17 and the program board will pay her a little over $20,000 for the privilege. There are endowed funds to pay for speakers, but judging from the lack of star names on campus, either these funds are not being used or they are not sufficient. President Anthony Marx invites speakers to campus, but has a policy of not paying them to come. We think he should reconsider this policy and use his considerable power as president not only to invite important speakers to campus, but also to put some of his discretionary funding behind these invitations.

While occasionally a powerful figure like astronaut and Senator John Glenn will agree to speak for free because of a connection to the College, the Amherst College name or location in itself is generally not strong enough to lure prominent speakers. In the absence of these highly visible figures, students will choose to spend their free time some place other than a lecture hall. Our collective intellectual curiosity is an issue for another day, but a famous name like Scalia or Coulter will attract more students and bring about more discussion than a lesser-known name who agrees to speak for free.

Particularly in the midst of a crucial election season and a controversial war, students would benefit from the intellectual debate that speakers generate. This would help to move intellectual discussion beyond the classroom and onto the rest of campus, even if it's a more divided campus as a result of controversial speakers. If it takes extra money to attract the type of lecturer that will effectively generate debate among students, we think Amherst College would do us a favor by paying up.