As Colgate University students, we are constantly bombarded with emails, posters and verbal announcements urging us to attend the many University-sponsored talks here on campus. So why is it that unless we are specifically mandated to attend one of these talks by a professor, we almost always ignore them? 

With all the hustle and bustle of Colgate life, it is easy to see these talks as another dreaded lecture to check off your Google Calendar. Many of these discussions are related to topics we discuss in class and almost all of the speakers are involved in academia in some manner. Additionally, when our professors urge us to attend something as a supplement to classroom discussion or a “just for fun” activity, these talks can begin to feel like homework. It’s time we look at university-sponsored talks with a new mindset, a mindset that centers around personal growth and intellectual enrichment. Just because something feels like an extra class, doesn’t mean it can’t be fun and engaging. 

Take the weekly brown bags hosted in the Center for Women’s Studies. Every Tuesday at 11:30 a.m., the lounge hosts a lunch with a guest or resident speaker. Topics range from deep philosophical questions to everyday matters. Consider the Living Writers events, where authors come to campus to discuss their books and share valuable insights about the writing process. At the Living Writers talks, you can even get your copy signed by a potential future New York Times bestseller. Faculty members even frequently give departmental talks on topics they have spent their lives researching. This is a good way to explore new interests and fields of study. It is also helpful when deciding which courses to take because professors may teach classes that expand on the content covered during their talks. These are just three examples of the dozens of different opportunities there are on campus to attend interest-based lectures. I can guarantee that no matter if you are interested in medicine or history, both or neither, there is at least one talk during the semester that will pique your interest. 

There are other added benefits to attending talks beyond the obvious acquisition of knowledge. Colgate students are constantly complaining about the lack of quality and variety in their diets. More often than not, talks are catered by local restaurants such as Hamilton Whole Foods or Rio Grande. Why not take advantage of a free meal that brings novelty into your diet and prevents the food the school paid for from going to waste? I’d be willing to bet that if you were very diligent with attending talks each week, you could get a free catered lunch almost every single day. This is just one of the many benefits of attending a university-sponsored talk. 

How would you feel if you spent weeks preparing and rehearsing a speech and you showed up to a crowd of 15 bored-looking 18-year-olds forced to be there for Core Conversations? Personally, I would be a bit disheartened that more students weren’t interested in my life’s work. Why else would anyone travel from a major metropolitan area to Hamilton but to engage with the Colgate student body, which has a reputation for being intellectual thinkers and go-getters? Talks given by alumni are especially important in this regard, because we should be proving to them that Colgate students are just as smart and talented as they were 20 or 30 years ago. Not only this, but alumni talks are also a great opportunity to network and find potential internships and career opportunities. The fact of the matter is that it’s downright disrespectful to the speakers, whether they are directly affiliated with Colgate or not, if we are not acknowledging their hard work by attending their lectures and asking meaningful questions. 

My final message is as follows: pick a talk you think sounds particularly interesting and give it a shot. Bring your friends and make it a social affair. Discussion fuels connection. This is especially true of talks given by Colgate students and faculty members. Gathering with people who share similar interests on a topic can allow us to form meaningful connections with our peers and faculty. A day is wasted if something new isn’t learned. This is the time in our lives when we should be hungry to learn and try new things, and a simple one-hour lecture once or twice a month is a palatable means of accomplishing this. Colgate students, attend more university-sponsored talks!