The recent informal societal discussions in the Nazareth Student Center are beginning to find a following.

The Talk of the University are a series of informal meetings facilitated by faculty and students regarding hot topics and issues across the country and around the globe.

The Talk of the University held their latest discussion, “#Revolution?: Social Movements in the Age of Social Media,” in the upper Main Dining Room on Nov. 17.

Another recent session of the Talk of the University: “What You Should Know,” was about the NFL and college football’s current sport culture. The topic came to fruition with the emergence of several NFL players being convicted of domestic abuse and the landslide of academic scandals in the NCAA.

Previous discussions have been about ISIS and the series of incidents that took place in Ferguson, Mo.

“The goal [of the discussions] is to empower university community members to be engaged and informed citizens and to foster respect for human dignity,” said Ross Novak, senior director of Student Conduct & Residence Life and one of the organizers of the events. “With this goal in mind, the committee selects discussion topics based on current events.”

The series had about 70 people in attendance for the two discussions on Ferguson and ISIS, while the NFL program’s discussion attendance dipped slightly due to a change of time. Organizers are continuing to search for the best time for the most people to attend.

Dr. Alexander Dawoody, associate professor of Public Administration, facilitated the discussion on ISIS.

“Let’s get a university-wide talk, not lecture, talk,” said Dawoody about organizing the events, “get the students involved in responding to public current issues, get their opinions of it, and talk about what we should do as global citizens in response [to them].”

Novak hopes to schedule a discussion on Ebola before Thanksgiving break to wrap up the series for the Fall semester.

Contact the writer:
[email protected]