UI Paying $17,500 For Jackson Visit

Item: Jesse Jackson visit to cost $17,500: Money from various areas of university will help pay for Black History Month address /Holly Bowen, Moscow-Pullman Daily News

More here: Edwards and Carmen Suarez, the UI’s director of human rights, access and inclusion, said the visit will be a learning experience for Idaho students. “This is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be in the presence of history,” Suarez said. The university will pay Jackson a $17,500 honorarium for delivering the speech and visiting with about 25 student leaders to be selected by the Associated Students of the UI.

Question: Is $17,500 a reasonable price for cash-strapped UIdaho to pay to bring Jesse Jackson to the Moscow campus?