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On March 4, Detroit News Columnist
Deb Price, the most widely read gay journalist in the U.S.,
was on the UW-Marshfield/Wood County campus as the featured
guest in our Window on the World Series – A Civil
Conversation. A partnership between Marshfield Social
Justice and our Office of Continuing Education, this event
drew more than 75 people into a dialogue on host of issues
related to gay rights.
I was unable to stay for the
entire event, but what struck me was the wonderful energy
generated in the theatre that night. It’s safe to say that
everyone present was engaged in the conversation –
regardless of which side of the debate they were on.
Unfortunately, enthusiasm and/or
energy generated by political discussion is not as prevalent
as it once was. In our fast-paced society, the demands of
family and career are such that we don’t always have – or
make time for – discussions on issues that impact our
community and/or society as a whole.
The discussion generated during A
Civil Conversation defied that sense of apathy, however.
I’m told that people left the theatre that night believing
that they could make a difference. Some left the room with
a perspective that was 360 degrees different than the one
they entered with.
It is that type of discussion that
UW-Marshfield/Wood County strives to generate through its
annual campus themes – this year’s is based on Affluenza,
a book by John DeGraff, et. al. It is our job, as an
institution of higher education, to provide venues for civic
engagement and the discussions it provokes.
As such, I invite and encourage
you to attend the next Window on the World event:
“Social Entrepreneurship: The Next Major Wave,” from 7-9
p.m. Thursday, April 27, in the Black Box Theatre at
UW-Marshfield/Wood County. The event will feature Jim
Bower, a Madison-based consultant on strategy development
and a lecturer on social entrepreneurship at UW-Madison;
Georgette Frazer, a local financial-planning and investment
advisor who has made social change an integral part of
values-based investing; and Heather Hilleren, founder of
GreenLeaf Market, a new internet-based business connecting
farmers and buyers to increase locally-grown produce
consumption. Discussion will include both local and global
perspectives while challenging the audience to tackle a
local social issue: affordable housing.
Affordable housing, homelessness,
gay rights – perhaps these issues don’t affect us all
directly. That, however, is not the point. It is the
responsibility of college campuses today to make sure that
as a community, we do not lose sight of societal problems
that perpetuate poverty, injustice or prejudice.
We cannot do it alone. Volunteers
with Marshfield Social Justice and other interested
community members have done a wonderful job in helping us to
spark discussion. Please join us.
Dr.
Andrew Keogh is the dean and campus executive officer of
UW-Marshfield/Wood County, a freshmen-sophomore campus of
the University of Wisconsin.
