Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera

[SFleischak at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/23/00 8:41:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
gatrelle at tils-ttr.org writes:

<<  On another matter, It should be of concern to all of us that the
 Bulletin of the Allyn Museum has not been put out for three years. I heard
 from The Top that the U. of Florida, which now controls the Allyn Museum,
 has cut off funding for the Bulletin. This is outrageous. The U. of F
 absolutely spends more in one year on ONE football players uniforms, travel,
 etc. than a years worth of the Bulletin issues!! For a multi-million dollar
 University to cut off such a worth while scientific publication smacks of
 nothing but internal politics. >>

The reason that universities justify spending money on football is that 
football brings in huge bucks. When was the last time that you saw a leps 
program on Pay For View? While Joe Six Pack sits on the couch damaging his 
brain he could be out with his son or daughter doing something useful like 
setting up butterfly habitats or taking the kids to a museum. Habitats and 
museums are not sexy.

Sports people know that access and publicity is money in the bank. I know a 
professional football player who hates the publicity and loss of privacy his 
job causes him. He also realizes the financial importance of that access and 
publicity.

So I say to you, no matter how obscure your job or interest is, if you want 
it to be funded and sexy, get out into the community and sell it. Make 
yourself accessible to the schools and community. If you get a call asking 
the most basic question in your field, promote it, embellish it, make it 
sexy. I promise you that if a fourth grader goes home and asks his parents 
what they know about Lepidoptera it will get their attention.

Remember sex sells and it might even get your thesis on Pay For View!

Steve

 
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