Red, white and blue cards listing hot-topic political issues were strategically placed around various dining locales on campus yesterday. The cards were distributed as part of a collaborative student effort to inspire political discussion.
Penn United Leaders and Penn Leads the Vote sponsored "Penn Talks Politics Day." Throughout the day, students and faculty members were urged to discuss the major issues of the upcoming presidential election, but not necessarily in the context of the two major candidates' viewpoints.
"We wanted to encourage people to think not only about the differences between the two candidates but more generally about the issues," said Wharton and College junior Jennifer Bunn, president of Penn United Leaders.
Informal discussions were held by some campus organizations and college houses as part of the day's events. Kelly Writers House, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center and Civic House were some of the participating centers.
Also, Harrison and Hill college houses sponsored their own meetings. Open to all students, these discussions were casually moderated by the respective faculty masters, whose role was to pose questions rather than answer them.
"We sort of encouraged [campus groups and college houses] not to have a speaker come in and have people be talked at," Bunn said, noting the importance of students generating their own opinions and ideas.
Yet, for students too busy with midterms to attend these organized discussions, the cards -- placed on all tables in the dining halls and several off-campus locations, including Saladworks, Bucks County Coffee, the Greek Lady, New Deck Tavern, Metropolitan Bakery and Allegro's Pizza -- were meant to extend political conversations to people who would otherwise not engage in such talks.
The cards posed questions that organizers hoped would spark deliberation, such as, "Should the [United States] send more troops into Iraq or begin withdrawing troops?" and "How can we improve public education so that no child is left behind?"
Organizers emphasized the non-partisan nature of the discussion topics.
"The election has the potential to be really divisive," said College junior Farrah Freis, co-director of Penn Leads the Vote.
"We don't want that. We want it to be more of a call to action for our generation that has the ability to have conversations that are difficult to have when partisan politics avoids them."
College senior Jason Levine, chairman of the Undergraduate Assembly -- which supported the "Penn Talks Politics" efforts -- echoed Freis' sentiments.
"In an election in which we have seen so much negativity and attack ads, positive discussion about relevant issues is what will engage students," Levine said.
"Penn Talks Politics" also involved collaboration with Dining Services to serve a politically themed dinner at 1920 Commons. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's chocolate chip cookies and President George W. Bush's Tex/Mex rice were served.
