Reflection of Discussion with Rosa Eberly

I wanted to attend Rosa's speech, but unfortunately had class that I could not miss during the time, so instead, I attended the roundtable discussion in Penrose at 7:00pm to about 9:00pm, When I first got there, I was a little shocked- I thought there would be more people. I was initially there by myself with two professors and Rosa Eberly. I let her know that I was not able to attend her speech, and asked her to let me know what she talked about. She informed me briefly that she was discussing service learning, and its positives and negatives, specifically at a University.

Eventually, two other undergraduate students, and Geoffrey arrived. We all started talking about service learning, and its moral components. We all gave our perspectives about the consequences of being required to volunteer. Additionally, we spoke of DU's student body in terms of contributing to and understanding the public good. A main topic that was discussed was the apathy of students toward idealistic change. We couldn't figure out why there was such apathy in the student body as a whole, but all agreed that a large part of it was the families students come from, and their perception of their privileges they are given by attending an expensive, small, and private university. Maybe, for this reason, it is necessary that students are required to participate in service learning.

When Rosa asked us what was something we thought needed change at DU, I responded environmental sustainability--or more specifically, the attitude toward the concept. When asked to elaborate, I expressed that having recycling bins, and having recycled paper notebooks available at the bookstore, doesn't exactly solve the ignorance present on campus. I recalled being in math class, where there was a recycling bin right next to the trash bin. A student ignorantly threw a piece of paper in the trash. This is the type of behavior I was referring to. It demonstrates that environmentalism cannot be improved by convenience; there must be a change in perspective. How can that be accomplished? As Rosa said, rhetoric is the only option left.

Another student present argued that the most prominent problem on campus is diversity. Being of a minority herslef, she felt that the proportions and ignorance present at DU was ridiculous. Passionate about the issue, she expressed that diversity awareness needs to be spread among all of the student body, not JUST the minorities, as that doesn't solve a thing. I found it really interesting to hear others' perspectives on the matter, because I never realized it was a problem. Of course, I could see that DU largely lacks diversity, but I didn't think there was much discrimination that existed. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Not being in the difficult position, I have not experienced the discrimination, and thus, naively assumed it did not exist. It meant a lot to me to hear how it felt to be on the other side, feeling discrimination every day- over, and over again. We all agreed that the only way to solve this issue is by exposing the entire student body to issues regarding diversity--not only those who are affected by it.

Over all, I am glad I attended the discussion. It was very engaging, thought provoking, and I got to know and hear the different perspectives of new and interesting people.