PennTalks and Rodin will listen

Under a new program, the administration will hear student views. It won't take bongo drums and protests to get University President Judith Rodin to listen to Penn students' views. As part of her latest project -- PennTalks -- interested undergraduates will have the opportunity to share their visions for Penn's future in student-led discussion groups around campus this spring. Findings from the sessions will be presented to Rodin and other University leaders to provide them with a better understanding of student opinions. "This is a way to get into the grassroots and have really everyone involved in the thinking and planning of the University," Rodin said. "There are a lot of items on the table ranging from what kind of future Penn should have with regard to academic programs, the nature of college houses and what kind of community we want to be." According to PennTalks Associate Director Bill Boltz, the discussion groups will be held in March and early April and will be open to undergraduates from across the University. "This is a chance to have students heard in a variety of forums," he said, noting that sessions will take place in college houses, fraternities and sororities, campus organizations and other places that Penn students meet. Student facilitators will lead the groups and subsequently meet to talk about their findings and eventually prepare a report for Rodin. These leaders will receive discussion training from the Connecticut-based Study Circles Resource Center, an institution that offers advice on how to lead productive discussions. All interested students may attend the training, according to Boltz. Although there is no set agenda for discussion, students will be asked to share personal memories of their Penn experience and identify the University's strengths and weaknesses to provide the background for strategic planning. For Penn Public Talk student liaison Ari Alexander, just the chance to participate in a group is exciting. "Students are looking for opportunities to feel empowered," the College junior said. "For the president of the University, who is seen as distant and corporate, to listen [to students] is a very powerful thing." "This isn't talk for the sake of talk," Penn Public Talk Executive Director Stephen Steinberg said. "On the one hand, we want this to be as open and interesting to students and facilitators, but at the same time distill from it hopes, visions about what this community wants to be." If successful, Steinberg said that they plan to expand PennTalks in the fall to include graduate students, faculty and staff. "And if the model works, we hope to share it with other universities," Steinberg added. PennTalks is the first program to be rolled out by the Penn Public Talk Project, and is being co-sponsored by the Undergraduate Assembly and Civic House. The idea for the program came as an outgrowth of the Penn National Commission on Society, Culture and Community -- a University-sponsored think-tank chaired by Rodin that studies how people interact in the public sphere and addresses ways to improve discourse. "It has always been our intent to bring the work of the Penn National Commission home," Rodin said. "This is just another model for interaction."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.