How often do you get to talk to your favorite professor in front of a packed lecture hall? Not that often, right? Well, Abude Alasaad, president of the First Year class, has the opportunity to do so once a month.
This past Thursday evening, 300 people from the Skidmore and Saratoga Springs communities flocked to hear Abude and a Skidmore favorite, Professor Sheldon Solomon of the Psychology department, lecture about and discuss the controversial topic of apathy in our generation.
Sheldon started by explaining that American youth are not apathetic but “pathetic”(thanks, Professor!). He attributed this trend of apathetic/pathetic youth in our current society to five main factors:
- How the Industrial Revolution changed our society
- Hyperindividuality in society
- The rise and pervasiveness of technology.
- The United States’ status as a global imperial power.
- Historic events causing an overall disregard of urgency.
Professor Solomon then stressed the importance of the democratic process and what our role, as the next generation, can be in reshaping it.
His remarks were well received, and students asked thought-provoking questions during the Q&A session that showed a strong interest in addressing the concerns that Professor Solomon raised.
I have to take a moment to share with you all the highlight of the night: Abude and Professor Solomon’s now famous selfie… watch out, Ellen!
This lecture was the first in a series that Abude plans on organizing, for each of which he will invite a notable Skidmore faculty member to speak about a controvesial topic. Abude hopes to stimulate dialogue outside of the classroom; as he explained in his introduction, “I don’t care what you think, I just really care that you think.”
These lectures will take place on the last Thursday evening of each month and are sure to be incredibly engaging, so be sure not to miss out. Hats off to you, Abude!