By Ben Roehlke, Staff Writer
On Wednesday Sept. 27, the Center for Intercultural and Community Engagement (CICE) sponsored a guest to come speak in the Degenstein campus theater.
The guest speaker was Michel Martin, National Public Radio, host and veteran journalist. Martin gave a lecture titled “Going There: Seeking Civil Discourse in the Age of Anger.”
Martin is the weekend host of the show “All Things Considered” on National Public Radio and has previously written for the Wall Street Journal and well as the Washington Post.
This lecture covered talking points related to recent social and political tensions. Some examples of the dialogue included differing opinions over the Trump administration, as well as discussion over protests across the nation.
A major theme that echoed throughout the lecture was an encouragement to take action and create discussion. Martin said that often times, when people found themselves in a heated discussion over sensitive topics, they tend to leave the situation or shut the other person out before hearing their side of the debate.
She stressed that no matter the difference in opinion or views politically or socially, it is important to hear all sides of a story and only then determine what is fact and what is fiction.
Martin then touched on recent accusations in the media that have come to be known as “fake news.” She said that many news providers have been accused of fake news and again stressed the importance of educating oneself on the facts of a story from all credible sources.
“The lecture was quite interesting, especially with what’s going on in the world today,” said, Charlie Riley, a junior who attended the lecture, “It’s important that people stay informed on these important issues.”
Senior Austin French discussed how he felt after the lecture: “I’m glad that [Martin] is encouraging people to continue the discussion when things get uncomfortable. I feel like people have taken the idea of ‘safe spaces’ too far, and seem to hide behind that when someone has an opinion that is different than their own.”
French continued, “I hope that people will be more open to this style of educated discussion, and make progress towards creating change, but it all starts by setting aside our differences.”
Martin is a part of Susquehanna lecture series titled “Public Culture in a Time of Hyperinformation.”
