By Ben Roehlke, Staff Writer
Each Tuesday in the lower level of the Degenstein Campus Center, the Center for Intercultural and Community Engagement (CICE) holds a “Tuesday Talk” at 11:30 a.m. These talks are a casual way that students can come together to discuss numerous topics usually relating to a worldwide or nationwide even that had occurred within the past few days.
For the Sept. 19 there was a “Tuesday Talk” in which everyone introduced themselves before the group dove into this week’s topic, which was “media representation and the Emmy’s.” As it turns out, the majority of the group had not seen the Emmy’s, however this opened up numerous topics regarding the media and its representation of gender and diversity.
One student brought up the point that because many did not watch the Emmy’s, it “goes to show that nobody needs to watch or even care about ‘what’s hot and what’s not,’” and that a majority of the time people who seem to care the most about these things are the most vulnerable to fake news and propaganda. As the discussion dove further into this comparison, it was agreed upon that fake news on any side of an argument is often the result of a news outlet attempting to be the first to break a story. The group agreed that by pushing these unfinished articles onto the public, they are given false or incomplete information.
The group then reflected on the differences between media today and media when they were growing up. As they reminisced on the simpler times when mass media and social networking was non-existent, they slowly started to fear for the next generation because many people put up a “social media mask” to hide their true self from others. The meeting continued with a discussion on why people believed that society feels it is necessary to put forth a false identity and determined that a major factor was the need to be liked and accepted by our peers. The discussion then came full circle as they found themselves talking about television and the writers behind many of the tv shows we see today. The group came to a consensus that writers have a responsibility to accurately represent minorities as well as various sexual orientations correctly. They also agreed that at the same time, viewers have a responsibility to understand the writers background and their life experience when writing.
Overall the experience and feeling during discussion was quite relaxed. In a time of high social and political tensions, “Tueday Talks” is somewhere where all viewpoints can be heard and discussed without hateful judgement. The students at the CICE hope to take in as many people as are willing to come in hopes that they will “engage the community so that they may walk out with a different perspective.”
The talks are quite successful as this is their third year being hosted.
After asking a sophomore about the CICE and their “Tuesday Talks”, they said that “I think it’s a great way to spread the word about various issues that are affecting society. I think that if more students come to these talks, we can start to come closer as a community and better understand various backgrounds and opinions. It’s a great way to break down barriers and speak freely.”
The CICE said that there will be a special guest speaker from NPR next Wednesday at 4:15 p.m. in the meeting rooms in the Degenstein Campus Center. All are strongly encouraged to come, as the topic will be “Civil Discourse in a Time of Anger”.