Freshman Lauren Redinger

A simple sound check — that is truly all it could have taken. Preparations in presentation is one of the most important things, but this seemed to be overlooked by UNK faculty and hosts on Sept. 23 — when Holocaust survivor, Milton M. Kleinberg shared his story. 

From the audience’s perspective, UNK seemed to have taken the improv approach, to put it politely. Perhaps there could have been a few microphones or some assistance from a tech guy. The list could go on and on with steps UNK could have taken when the very special guest was welcomed to campus. 

UNK students and the Kearney community had the privilege of hearing from Kleinberg, Holocaust surivor and author of “Bread or Death”.

However, what should have been an enjoyable and enlightening experience for students, turned into a distracting and rather unfortunate sound show. Not only were the sound problems ongoing, but the continuous interruptions just felt disrespectful to our speaker. 

The university could have put just a little more effort into this event to make guests feel a more welcome and create a better environment for the listeners.  

During this event, I sat near the back by an older gentleman. I tried my best throughout to help the older gentleman understand what Milton said, but because the sound was so quiet, I had a hard time myself. 

Throughout the presentation the older gentleman became so irritated with the ongoing microphone problems he took matters into his own hands and stood up and said, “Louder.”

Everyone in the audience seemed to have the same thoughts going through their heads, “Why can’t they figure this problem out?” Or, “Can they find someone who knows what they’re doing?”  

All in all, this problem seemed to be an easy fix and perhaps just a simple mic check could have amplified what Kleinberg had to say, quite literally.