At the C's

I wrote this over at Middlebrow's blog, and I'll say it here again:

I'm at the 4C's and can't help but wonder why the powers that be select an expensive place in an expensive city--we're college professors, not bankers. Many folks are staying at other,cheaper places, but still. . .
Do I want to be in charge of facilities for the next convention? No. Do I want to be part of a committee brainstorming how to make it easier for more people (like adjuncts, for example) to afford the convention? Yeah.

There's got to be a better way to make it win/win for everyone--and perhaps blogs, maps and wiki's can be used to communicate things--just brainstorming now, but how about a blog dedicated to finding affordable places to sleep and eat?  That wouldn't cover the cost of getting people to the cities or paying conference fees, but it's a start.  And it would be a defined place dedicated to serving conference attendees.

I'd like to make it easier for adjuncts to attend conferences, period.  That's a whole 'nother post, though.

Comments

[middlebrow]

I completely agree. I thought the conference at Chicago last year was much more affordable. I think increasing access to the conference is important.

I'm still a little sorry I'm not going this year. For one, I would like the opportunity to meet some fellow bloggers. But it was not to be. Perhaps next year we can all meet--a community college english blogger get together.

[Elizabeth]

What about an online conference?

[joanna]

Elizabeth, an online conference sounds great--what do you have in mind?

[Meg]

I'd like to see our conferences in less-represented cities -- Detroit, Des Moines, Galveston, etc. -- cities that aren't expensive or "destinations" but that are still relatively easy to get to. And in tandem with our conferences, we ought to offer a half-day of service to the local community -- i hope someone, somewhere, is arranging some sort of service opportunity in NOLA next year.

[joanna]

I hope so, too, Meg. I don't think we can go there and not do something. Your idea of non-destination cities is also worth investigating.

[Dennis G. Jerz]

New York is where the publishers are, and I'm sure they like being able to attend without traveling far. You're not the only one who's raised these concerns.

Did you notice where CCCC 2008 will be held?

http://www.ncte.org/cccc/conv/126909.htm

[joanna]

Dennis, I did notice that NOLA was the next city--on the one hand, it's a good thing as it will bring money to the area (and, as Meg suggests, perhaps we can do something along the lines of "service conferencing," and volunteer to help in a big way.). On the other hand, it's still a "destination" conference.

And that's where I once again feel like the fat and lazy East Coast cat about these conferences--If I want to go to many of these cities, I can hop a train and be there soon. Moreover, I can hop the Metro and take advantage of the museums and plays and so forth without leaving home. So who am I to say to another professor that they must go to a conference in a smaller place just to save money?
Frankly, I'd like to go to the smaller cities and towns inside the continent for a change of venue as well as a change of revenue. I want to see and learn about other parts of the country that aren't as well-known. And, having the sensibilities of an anchorite, I don't need to be entertained--just give me a room and wifi and I'm A-Okay.