'Why Can't We All Just Get Along?'

46th-annual PAS asks for some respect

February 3, 2009

Danny Glover is a featured speaker of the 46th-annual Public Affairs Symposium.

Has the historic inauguration of the country's first African-American president ushered in a new era of civil discourse? That's a question many may want to ask when Dickinson welcomes actors and activists Danny Glover and Felix Justice on Sunday, Feb. 15 for their original stage production, An Evening with Martin & Langston.

The play is a first for the Poitras-Gleim Lecture, the keynote event of the 46th-annual Public Affairs Symposium (PAS), a student-organized conference focusing on an issue of ethical or social significance. This year's theme is "Why Can't We All Just Get Along? Civility and Respect in Today's World," which will explore the concepts of civility and respect within the context of social justice.

The choice of speakers this year reflects many discussions among students about how civility is defined, according to Annie Kondas, assistant director of campus life and advisor for PAS.

"Is it a matter of manners or about interracial dialogue?" she asks. "Should it be about how we interact with other individuals, groups or even countries, especially those that we don't agree with?"

To address these questions, the committee members—co-chairs Samantha Krupnick '09 and Lee Tankle '10, and Alexander Bloom '11, Tighe Coneys '11, Caitlin Yaeger '11 and Stephanie Seifert '12—have scheduled a diverse lineup of speakers.

"The speakers don't necessarily relate to each other directly, but they all have a story or something to say about how we treat others in the world," says Tankle. "Overall we live on a campus where people are very respectful of other cultures, genders, religions, elasticities, etc., but we still have a long way to go."

With Justice as Martin Luther King Jr. and Glover as Langston Hughes, the play examines the intersections of art, culture and activism through a weaving together of King's and Hughes' own words. Justice and Glover will remain onstage afterward for a question-and-answer session.

The free performance is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Anita Tuvin Schlechter (ATS) Auditorium. Tickets are required, however, and are available through Feb. 13 downstairs in the Holland Union Building (HUB) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or can be reserved by e-mailing PAS@dickinson.edu.

The other PAS speakers include Immaculée Ilibagiza, who will give a lecture, Left to Tell: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwanda Genocide, and hold a book-signing on Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. in Rubendall Recital Hall. Ilibagiza, who emigrated to the United States after losing much of her family to the 1994 genocide, has established the Left to Tell Charitable Fund, which supports Rwandan orphans.

P.M. Forni, director of the Johns Hopkins Civility Project, will speak on Soft Skills in Hard Times: The Case for Good Manners in an Age of Diminishing Expectations on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. in the Stern Center Great Room. He has published extensively on the interconnectedness of civility, ethics and quality of life.

Previous PAS topics have included "Is Privacy Dead?" and "No Laughing Matter: Humor in a Complex World," which featured Valerie Plame-Wilson and Sen. Bob Dole, respectively, as the Poitras-Gleim Lecturers. The Poitras-Gleim Lecture is endowed by a gift from Ted and Kay Gleim Poitras '53.

For more information about PAS, visit www.dickinson.edu/storg/pas.