October 18th – Today is the day the Dalai Lama was supposed to visit campus – the U has booked no substitute speakers to replace his Holiness’s speech.
After the Tibetan Buddhist leader, age 80, fell ill at the end of September, he returned to India to recover and cancelled all upcoming appearances – including his short stint at the U. Now, days before the event was set to take place at the Huntsman Center, the university has shelled out refunds to nearly every ticket holder.
Jana Cunningham, U spokesperson, said the ticket office is wrapping up the process by reimbursing the few people – less than 40 – who paid by cash or check, which takes longer to sort out. All debit and credit cards orders should already be processed. Anyone with questions can contact the office at 801-581-UTIX.
Cunningham said the U sold 9,959 tickets total for the event, but could not provide a breakdown of what portion of those were sold to students for $10, faculty and staff for $20 or community members for $35.
Though the speech was sold-out and highly anticipated, the U did not book an alternate speaker and has not received any further updates on the Dalai Lama’s health. The nature of his illness is unknown at this time.
“We’re all disappointed, obviously, but we understand,” said Maria O’Mara, university spokesperson. “We hope that he’s better soon and can resume his plans to travel. What that means for us, we’re not sure.”
The World Parliament of Religions annual conference, which also included a visit from the Dalai Lama, will still take place in Salt Lake City from Oct. 15-19. Additionally, the U’s Honors College will show the documentary “Compassion and Wisdom: A Guide to Bodhisattva’s Way of Life,” centered on his Holiness, at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday in the Marriott Honors Center (rooms 1206a/b and 1205).
The university is also hosting a lecture on the genomic history of Tibet on Oct. 22. Though not directly related to the Dalai Lama, the event, hosted by the Department of Anthropology, will explore the history of the religious leader’s homeland, from where he was exiled in 1959. The colloquium starts at 2:15 p.m. in the Stewart Building (room 205).
The Dalai Lama, who works to preserve harmony and his culture, spoke previously at the U in 2001.
@CourtneyLTanner