Thirty of the students enrolled in ASU this year may as well have made their tuition checks out to Spike Lee. 

The film industry icon pocketed a rumored 30,000 of our university’s dollars for his less-than-impressive speech in an overflowing Farthing Auditorium last Monday night. 

Let’s face it, the reason most of us went was to see what was behind this big Hollywood name. 

Conclusion: not much. 

After a standing welcome from the crowd, Spike Lee graciously mispronounced “Appalachian.” 

It was immediately clear how little Lee invested in gaining our respect and patronage. 

Those not offended by his mispronunciation should have been insulted by his hypocritical view of Greek life. 

After voicing his amusement at the shift in fraternity focus from service and leadership to sexual prowess, Lee discussed his concern about the rise in violence directed at pledges. 

In spite of these concerns, Lee expressed hope that a certain black fraternity at ASU be reinstated. 

Surprising to many was Lee’s contention that Division I athletes should receive a stipend, in addition to free tuition and board, for the profits their names generate for their universities. 

Excuse us, but we were under the impression that college is for academics. 

Save the money making for the NBA ... unless we want salary caps and lock-outs to become commonplace at the collegiate level. 

Lee continued to wow the audience with his less-than-courteous and often rude answers to their questions and comments. 

In fact, the only question Lee answered with enthusiasm was a  request from a New York Knicks fan to sign his jersey. 

Lee seemed genuinely interested when the UNC-Asheville student praised the his artistic stance and asked him to visit his university. 

However, when someone from Boone asked the Nike endorser to attend our game against Chapel Hill,  Lee merely laughed, asked if it was an exhibition game and wished us luck. 

Thanks for the encouragement. 

Several aspiring film-makers asked legitimate questions about their futures in the industry and how to get started. 

Even after explaining how difficult it was for him to get a break,  Lee had little sympathy or helpful advice for his fans. 

While we admit that some audience members posed embarrassingly ignorant questions, Lee’s  rude and insufficient answers suggested his own ignorance, or at least his indifference to their reverence for his personal and film-making success. 

There was no excuse for Lee’s apathy, especially considering the number of people who were willing to watch him on closed-circuit TV in Farthing’s lobby and Plemmons Student Union. 

Those of us who arrived early enough to get seats in the auditorium felt fortunate to be in the presence of a world renowned film-maker. 

We only wish he would have shown us that we deserved his presence. 

We left with the sense that Lee had just come to pick up  a check. 

We had hoped that Lee came to Boone because he thought it was somehow special, but he left us feeling that we were just another small town undeserving of his time or concern. 

Those of us wanting to be inspired by Lee’s success were disheartened. 

Apparently, Lee’s secret to success is to disregard those who admire and support him. 

While Lee filled the allotted time, his words fell empty upon the ears of those who sought encouragement and revelation. 

The evening wasn’t a total loss for us and the other 1,736-plus in attendance. We did learn something. 

We now know that it takes more than $30,000 to gain some sort of respect from a person like Spike Lee. 

And we now know the man behind the name. Maybe we were better off just knowing the name. 

In the future, when selecting arrogant speakers, let’s get a better one.