University, the South, Statistics, and an Invitation

[David KUIJT <kuijt@umiacs.UMD.EDU>]

Poster: David KUIJT <kuijt@umiacs.umd.edu>


It's Dafydd again! (ta-DAH! :^)

Talking to Eldred, I wrote:

> >The North has more than four times the SCA population of the South, ... 

And he responded:

> BTW, is the 4:1 ratio correct?  Are
> you looking at just the paid members or are you looking at paid
> members plus people who show up regularly?

I pulled the ratio out of my hat.  It is based upon nothing more than my
perception and experience; I think it is not too far off, but it might
also be 3:1, or 5:1, or maybe even 10:1 if you count people who go to only
one event a year (which I don't).  It is just a guesstimate.


About University, Eldred asks:
 
> Just as a yardstick, what are the regional ratios for the last few years?

I dunno.  Countess Elizabeth can tell you, but you should refine your
query.  Exactly what ratio do you want to see?  Breakdown by state over
the last three years?  Teachers, students, combined?

> The last "Southern" University I remember was in Hidden Mountain
> well over two years ago.  How many people showed up in total?  Does
> the total reflect the ratio of the kingdom populace?

Was that the University where I taught Cambok?  Elizabeth can easily give
you the total attendance -- actually, come to think of it, the information
for that University is already on the UofA Web Page that you can access
through the Acorn page or Atlantia page.  I don't think the total
attendance as a ratio of kingdom population is meaningful, though; it is
dependant upon too many variables.  Weather, for example.  Competing
events on the previous and subsequent weekends.  Royal support or lack
thereof.  And so on. 


> IF you want me to show you my opinion, I'd love to go to a class on
> making stained glass.  I'd also like to go to a class on constructing
> and decorating (simple) portable buildings (hint, hint).

Hmmm.  I think it was two Universities ago that I taught the SCA
architecture class.  I don't really want to teach a stained glass class,
because I don't make stained glass, I make painted plastic.  It looks like
stained glass from a short distance, but it won't break and therefore I
can take it to events.  Also, the materials are both expensive and toxic.


> I'd also love for University to be less than 3 hours away from me.  8^)

Hey, me too.  But I go to them even when they are far away.  Not out of a
sense of duty -- I enjoy University an awful lot.


> I do have a suggestion for increasing southern attendance at
> southern and south central universities:  get input on what people
> would like to have taught at those universities and get the instructors
> to come to those.  For instance, if I'd like to go to a class on stained
> glass, and it gets offered at a Storvik university, it doesn't do me
> much good, unless I'm willing to travel 10+ hours.  You also need to
> work it out that highly popular classes don't get scheduled at the
> same time -- or better yet, see who wants to take what classes,
> where they are from, and schedule accordingly so as to be most
> convenient for the largest number people for that particular site.
> A rather nasty scheduling problem, though.

A nasty scheduling problem, and an impossible data-gathering problem.  It
might be more work trying to reach all the people, estimate which part of
the population might attend, constructing the survey, and interpreting the
results, than it would be to just run two or three universities.  To say
nothing of finding the teachers.  Good teachers are a very limited
resource.


Regarding the placement of Isenfir and the impact of that placement upon
Kingdom Event stats: 

> You missed my point.  Assuming that Isenfir had not become "central"
> in 1990, how would those stats be affected?  My thought is that if
> Isenfir remained "North" after 1990, that more events would be
> classified as "North" as well.

Ah, OK, now I see.  Well, it turns out not to matter in that direction
either.  Isenfir has never held a Crown Tournament, Coronation, Unevent,
or Twelfth Night, neither before nor after 1990.  So even if it had been
classified as "South", it would not impact the stats on such events in the
slightest. 


 
> >Dafydd,
> >who is in favour of travel and has made it to two or three events in the
> >South every year for the last 15.

> ^^^^And who can _afford_ to travel.... 8^)

Hey, man, everything is tradeoffs.  It isn't necessary to be rich to
travel in the SCA.  You don't need to have a hotel, and you don't need to
buy expensive road food.  You can convoy with four people, and the cost
doesn't end up being that high.  The SCA doesn't have to be an expensive
hobby.  Sure, you'll need to record Babylon 5 on the VCR, but that isn't
impossible.  Going to events 8 hours away doesn't require huge wealth,
just interest and commitment and staying up late Friday night. 

Most of the events I go to the South I crash with people.  And I've opened
my house to crashers from every Barony in this Kingdom at one time or
another.  I'm especially happy to do that for people from Hidden Mountain,
Bordervale Keep, Nottinghill Coill, and Sacred Stone.  I've had one or
more squires in all four of those groups at one time or another.

Please, ANYONE reading these words from the South -- I invite you to crash
at my place when you come up for an event in Maryland.  Let me show you my
projects, if you have a week :^)  Browse in our library, where we have
books that you can't even get in some Universities!  I have thousands of
photographs of medieval artifacts taken at museums both in the USA and
England, organized by subject.  We have a small personal xerox machine if
you want to photocopy stuff to take some research home with you.  Don't be
afraid to ask for crashspace--the only real danger is that I will talk
your ear off.  Although if you are allergic to cats, you will suffer. 

Dafydd


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