Thoughts on the Forum

I thought that the forum was pretty enlightening. I got the chance to be in a group with Angie Sheets, the director of Residential Life on campus, who had some very interesting ideas. She was the only non-student in the "Dorm" corner when we were asked where we felt most comfortable, and later explained that this was because the dorms are her domain, where she is the top of the chain, and where she has the most power to help students. She also brought up, in our conversation about when we felt we were in the most classed situation on campus, that she goes to the Board of Trustees meeting, and often feels out of place, especially when they are discussing what they will use our endowment toward, since she said she often feels that more of it should go into financial aid. Another interesting point that she made was that she felt in the least-classed environment during the faculty/staff kids Halloween party, where everyone is there for a common purpose, and there is not as much hyperawareness of who is in charge, has the most ownership, etc.

I thought that we could take this final idea and bring it into more events on campus, which are open to the faculty and staff, without the stress that our forum seemed to create for some people that each of us invited. I think that maybe, by not directly asking about class, but instead by sharing experiences with people from all over the campus community, we can become more exposed to their points of view.