Student leaders mingle at forum

Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge was bustling with conversation last night as student leaders from across campus met for a social event intended to facilitate the exchange of ideas and concerns in an informal forum. Sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for University Life, the Social Planning and Events Committee and the Undergraduate Assembly, "Conversations" was coordinated by UA Vice Chairperson Gil Beverly and SPEC Secretary Vick Hirani. The event was attended by more than 50 people -- including representatives from student government, community service groups, theatre and political organizations and fraternities and sororities. "The idea came after attending a smoker for honors students, which was so great that I stayed an hour afterward just talking," Beverly said. "So I thought it would be great if we could get more people involved and do that for student leaders. "We wanted to avoid the idea of a political agenda or political schmooze," he added. "We intended it to be just a chance for student leaders to hang out." Hirani praised the laid back atmosphere of the program. "Being informal lets people voice their opinions easily," Hirani said. "That's the whole point of a forum where different people can get together. If we had an agenda that would be more difficult." But reaction to the unstructured program was mixed. SPEC President Nelson Telemaco said he found it "encouraging that students can learn to come together in a social setting." "I liked the relaxed atmosphere because it had no hidden agendas or people in charge," he said. Kite and Key member Ilene Epstein said she agreed. "It's a good way for leaders to get to talk and to get to know who to talk to in the future," she said. Others were disappointed to find that the event had no formal interactive programming. "This was not as constructive as an interactive program," said Alpha Phi Alpha President Moses Hart. "People who do not really know each other tend to stay within groups and they were not given a reason to mingle as much as in an interactive format. "This was more small talk and was not really groundbreaking," he added. But Hirani said he was very encouraged by the turnout and hopes the three sponsors can work together on similar events in the future.

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