SGA’s Ask Away event returns as an in-person event
November 20, 2021
The Student Government Association (SGA) held their annual Ask Away event this past Thursday, Nov. 11 for students to share their perspectives on different campus issues
The topic of the event was inclusion on campus in which students and faculty spoke about commonly debated issues such as parking, food, masks and more. The purpose of Ask Away is to encourage debate and conversation to help create positive change in the community.
Provost Debra Liebowitz said she was excited to join students and be able to participate in the discussions they were having.
“I’m here because I want to hear what people are thinking, so I think this is a space to try to make the community a better place,” Liebowitz said. “I hope what all of us are doing is trying to make the places that we’re in, the communities we’re in, better, stronger, more inclusive.”
Students were randomly assigned to a table that had board games and lists of questions and conversation starters to further encourage discussion. Third-year legal studies student Anesu Mhene said she left the event with some new ideas in her head.
“We had a really interesting discussion about what we wish we could have changed in our college careers and I know with COVID a lot of people are saying that they wish they could have studied abroad and that’s something that I found interesting because I still have that opportunity so maybe that’s something that I’ll think about,” Mhene said.
Liebowitz says speaking with students about the transition back to school was important to hear.
“We had a long conversation about just what it felt like to everyone to transition back to being in-person and how grateful everyone was expressing being incredibly grateful about it and also how different it felt and how there was a real adjustment,” Liebowitz said.
Last year, Ask Away was held virtually, preventing students from having these important conversations face-to-face. Liebowitz was grateful to be there this year so they could talk, eat and play board games with one another.
“Having the human interaction, being able to sit with a group of students and just talk about things, talk about their experience, ask questions, chat, laugh together; that’s so different than being online,” Liebowitz said.
Ask Away is set to return next semester for students and faculty to continue expressing their opinions on topics that matter.
