In my short two months on campus, I’ve come to call guest speakers and talks part of my weekly routine. I’ve gone from sidestepping tons of flyers and reading inboxes full of reminders to actually attending a wide range of talks. Northwestern draws many incredible intellectuals, celebrities and experts in all fields that have made my high school teachers and friends green with envy. However, I feel students aren’t taking advantage of these opportunities to the extent that they should.
This is not to say that students don’t attend talks at all. I’ve seen the auditoriums, forums and halls at all points of a spectrum ranging from three rows filled to full house, indicating there are students who view guest speakers as an addition to their learning experience. However, I don’t think talks are as well attended as they should be, especially given the wealth of knowledge and perspectives that they offer.
At Northwestern there is undoubtedly a culture of pre-professionalism where networking and internships are features of campus life. Pre-professionalism in itself is well and fine, but could be detrimental if it leads to students shutting themselves off from events that “have nothing to do with my major.” A mindset like that is limiting and doesn’t allow one to expand their viewpoints or entertain different perspectives.
I was told during my campus tour that this was a school where it was “okay to deviate” and where I didn’t have to have a five-year plan – so why should the words on my diploma dictate the events I attend?
Time is a precious commodity on this campus given the multitude of papers to write, meetings and classes to attend and people to catch up with. It’s somewhat understandable that the ticking clock means we only attend speeches that are “practical” or will somehow benefit us in the future. However, you really never know what you’ll get out of a talk unless you actually go, and sometimes, you may be surprised in a good way.
The most “uncharacteristic” speaker event I’ve attended so far is a talk given by Royal Pains actress Reshma Shetty, who spoke about how her Indian heritage affected her acting career. To be honest, I wouldn’t have gone if I hadn’t needed a speech story topic for my journalism class; I am neither Indian nor interested in acting. Also, I’ve never watched Royal Pains so I couldn’t even have attended as a fan-girl.
Although I was there for an assignment, I found Shetty an engaging and vivacious speaker who somehow managed to weave advice and quick wit into her biography. I realized that the topics she touched upon in her talk were still relevant to me as an Asian trying to break into media. In retrospect, I realize that although Shetty’s example was rooted in her own experience, the scope of her advice can be expanded and apply to anyone breaking into any industry.
I have to acknowledge that practical factors such as short-notice could be behind the lukewarm response to speaking events. Flyers for a talk delivered by development economist Paul Collier were up four days prior to the talk itself and I still get emails advertising events five minutes before they begin. It’s likely that if you somehow manage to see flyers through the snow on the ground, you’re busy because let’s face it, you’re at Northwestern.
In high school we probably all heard about the importance of intellectual curiosity, or the love of learning. However, with strict graduation requirements and a constant pressure to do well, intellectual curiosity was probably more of a concept than an avenue that could be adequately explored. Northwestern’s distribution requirements lend themselves to this idea, but at the end of the day, courses are still courses and come with some degree of commitment and pressure.
These guest speakers and panels are akin to auditing a class that only meets once ever (and mostly not at unforgivably early hours of the morning). Attending them is a chance to hear viewpoints and opinions that go beyond your lecture, or to expand on a concept perhaps mentioned as a side note in one of your classes that made you sit up and take notice.
So I encourage you all to look at the random overflowing bulletin boards you walk by in Kresge while rushing to a studies class, or in Swift while trying to lift yourself out of student poverty by participating in psychology experiments. While I normally complain about things in excess, Northwestern’s many speakers ensure that students have multiple opportunities to expand their views and get out of their comfort zones.