This semester’s Hot Topic Tuesdays have touched on a variety of hot-button issues, such as the 2016 presidential election, gender politics, and the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, as a way to air out opposing opinions.
The informal Tuesday talks, begun in September 2015, create a forum for the community of students, staff, and faculty to discuss current events, a feat relevant in light of this year’s election.
“Hot Topic Tuesday is a bi-weekly series that seeks to provide a space for dialogue on current issues in the United States and around the world,” Director of Intercultural Relations Erin Hoffman said. “Hot Topic Tuesday dialogues are open to all members of the Lake Forest College community.”
Lunch is provided.
Hoffman said the program was established through a collaborative effort. “The concept was developed by staff, faculty, and student staff working in the Ethics Center, the Office of Intercultural Relations (OIR), and the Office of Residence Life (ORL),” Hoffman said. “Each of our departments were interested in providing more opportunities for dialogue at Lake Forest College.”
The program’s inception was designed to address hot-button issues that the creators believed the campus community would benefit from discussing. “The program was developed in an effort to respond to challenging and divisive issues that come up regularly and often [are] covered in the news,” Hoffman said. “In particular, concerns about racism in the United States dominated media attention in 2014 and 2015. We felt we needed a regularly scheduled space to talk about concerns related to racism and many other issues that society is grappling with and to do so in a civil and productive manner.”
Anissa Loyola ’18 said she is unsure if discussing divisive issues will help unify the College’s community. “I don’t know anyone who attends these meetings, so I don’t think they are all that helpful in bringing the community together,” she said.
“Theoretically it seems like a good way [to promote] discussion; in reality, people are shy and tend to express their opinions freely to those they trust. I don’t think open discussion will help the community that greatly; it may help settle emotional issues, but talk is talk and it doesn’t really settle the problem.”
Bridget Deguia ‘18 had not heard of Hot Topic Tuesdays, but thought a community forum is necessary. “I believe that this is valuable because it allows students to voice their opinions on issues that are important to them and allows them to view the opinions of other and gain a better understanding of the community,” she said.
Anyone can suggest topics for the program. “We have a coordinating team representing the three collaborating departments (Ethics Center, OIR, ORL) who generate the topics for each Hot Topic Tuesday program,” Hoffman said. “We also invite students, faculty, and staff to suggest ideas.”
Loyola’s experience with Hot Topic Tuesdays was limited to the multiple posters posted around campus. “I’ve never been to one because I think it’s a group of intellectuals coming together to discuss important issues in modern society,” she said. “It appeared too serious for me, so I never attended one. I don’t know what the topic would be about, so I don’t go.”
Hoffman said program attendance has been “growing” in the past year. “This year, more than 20 people have attended each session,” Hoffman said. “There are some students who regularly attend Hot Topic Tuesday and some who are drawn to the program based on the particular topic.”
Hot Topic Tuesday gatherings meet in Deerpath Hall at noon on the first and third Tuesdays of every month during the fall and spring semesters.
