Pick of the Day: Talkin' About School & Society

In the last few years, the University of Regina has started several public discussion/lecture series situated in non-academic settings to maximize their availability and appeal for Reginans outside of the university community. In addition to hopefully elevating the general level of intellectual discourse in the city, they're good public relations for the university. People in broader society are sometimes skeptical about the value of post-secondary institutions, regarding them as ivory towers where little that's relevant to everyday life is taught/researched.

Nothing could be further from the truth, of course. But by hosting public lectures and discussions the university is able to demonstrate its relevance. The Faculty of the Arts was first out of the gate with its popular Coffeehouse Controversies which are held at Chapters. Since then, the Department of Philosophy and the Faculty of Education have both launched lecture series at Connaught Library and LaBodega Restaurant respectively.

Tonight at 7 p.m. the Faculty of Education launches its 2009-10 program Talkin' About School & Society with a discussion on Youth, Gangs, Dropouts & Racism. It's a problem that definitely carries a high cost, both on an individual and societal level. I'll be doing a news article on it for our Oct. 8 issue. So stay tuned.