In an attempt to provide open discourse related to student debt and loans, the student group Civility Instead held an hour-long open forum for students Oct. 27 in the Memorial Union.
More than 70 people attended, and the event organizers facilitated small- and large-group discussions among attendees. Key members of the club and affiliated organizations also gave short presentations.
"One of the things about debates is that they are so polarizing, and this format allows for civility to happen," Catherine Stermetz, who moderates Civility Instead, said. "This is a multiplicity of views and positions. We don't see this in politics today and this does away with that polarization."
Stermetz said former students founded Civility Instead last fall and the club hosts forums twice a semester on issues that concern students. This forum was the first of the semester.
Tim Cywinski, an organizer with the organization Degrees not Debt, spoke about the effects of student loan debt on a national scale.
Degrees not Debt is a student-run campaign sponsored by the National Education Association that focuses on college affordability and the student loan crisis.
"The amount of debt you create is wholeheartedly going to dictate what you do after you graduate," Cywinski said. “Everyone agrees that it is an issue that needs to be addressed. We want to bring the issue into mainstream narrative."
To kick off and end the forum, organizers invited five students to openly discuss Student Debt and Loans with a moderator on stage.
Political science and business junior Tanner Swanson was one of the students who volunteered.
“I came here tonight because this is an issue that is relevant to our generation,” Swanson said. “We’re afraid to confront it because it is something we need to compete in today’s economy.”
The remainder of the forum gave students the chance to split into small groups and then present to the entire group.
Construction management junior John Forsi, the president of Civility Instead, said the purpose of this technique is to help integrate students with different viewpoints and backgrounds.
“Everyone is bringing their opinions and viewpoints and they have different environments and viewpoints," Forsi said. “We want people with different opinions and viewpoints. We need to hear those people and their voices.”
Reach the reporter at Garrison.Murphy@asu.edu or follow @Garrison_Murphy on Twitter.
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