The foundations of forum
My name is Jocelyn Baas. As of this semester, I am your new Forum editor for The Augustana Mirror.
This section of our newspaper is different from any other. Forum finds its foundation in the voices and opinions of its community.
We derive our name “forum” from the Roman city center – an open-air meeting place that held political speeches and elections, court proceedings, religious assemblies and other social gatherings.
As I planned to write this, my first piece as Forum editor, I was unintentionally romanticizing the idea of this historical forum; I loved the idea that there was a place where the public could come to discuss what they felt was important. Rocki Wentzel of the classics department brought to attention my error, pointing out that the men of the forum – and they were all men – often gave voice to petty squabbles and personal grievances, ignoring larger issues.
We must remember history so that we do not repeat its mistakes. This modern forum strives to improve upon its historical namesake. This platform always aims to strengthen our community and not to weaken it; this is a place for constructive discussion amongst peers.
I accepted this position because I place great emphasis on the importance of positive discourse. From a young age, I have been frustrated by the fact that we often skirt conflict rather than face it directly, even when directness might solve an issue more quickly and efficiently.
There is an explanation for this avoidance though: Many people view debate as a sort of verbal fistfight – one that has a winner and a loser.
Framing our forum like this, however, misses the point. We are not angry Romans yelling at each other; rather, we are peers facing the same problems from different angles.
Disagreement is a part of a healthy community. Imagine, for a moment, how dull life would be if everyone you met was exactly like you. It would not only be boring, but it would be dangerous. We would cease to be unique, and, therefore, we would cease to be human.
I believe in the power of conversation, that we have something to learn from each other and that we should not underestimate that fact. Should both parties approach this dialogue in good faith, we will be positively changed.
We improve upon the historical model of the forum in another way. Besides belonging to the Augustana community, we at the Mirror set no standards as to who may or may not speak here.
It is not lost on me that, as a woman, I would not have been allowed to set foot in the historical Roman forum, let alone participate in its proceedings. Restrictions based on gender would not have been the only ones in that setting; participants also would have been expected to meet qualifications regarding social standing and class, race and ethnicity and more.
This forum does not have those qualifications. We want to uplift the entire Augustana community – full stop.
It is worth mentioning that the values I have gone over are not new to this newspaper, or its Forum section. My predecessors have set a high bar, and it is their standard that I strive to meet. I simply reiterate these points as a reminder to both you as the audience and me as your editor. Over the course of history, we have made these changes intentionally. We must not forget why progress was necessary in the first place.
A final point – the foundations of the Forum section are in you, Augustana. What do you have to say?
