Listening to Dr. Cornel West intellectually answering the questions he was asked by the Salve Regina community.
This assignment allowed me to attend a campus event and write a project about it. I enjoyed interviewing people and I liked the style of this writing.
American philosopher, Dr. Cornel West, was interviewed by Dr. Kelli Armstrong and the community on Thursday Feb. 25, 2020, at Salve Regina University.
Dr. Cornel West is known to be a professor, philosopher, author and activist. Son of a Baptist minister, West focuses on the role of race, gender and class in American society. Salve Regina’s president, Dr. Kelli Armstrong, asked questions and invited the audience to ask their own questions as well.
The Salve Regina Bazarsky Lecture Hall was completely filled with the community, Salve students and faculty. Tickets were free so almost everyone who heard about the event attended. The large lecture hall felt small because of West’s inviting personality that filled up the whole room. The mood was very happy, delighted and fun throughout the whole interview. The room was filled with laughter as West made the whole room laugh almost every few minutes. “He’s amazing!” was said many times in the audience as the conversation with West continued. No one was talking over Dr. West showing him the respect he deserves by actively listening and responding with questions. The event as a whole was a very powerful multicultural event.
There were about eight questions asked; four from Armstrong and four from the audience. “What does mercy look like in public” asked someone in the audience. “Mercy in the relation of persons to the other person are consistent, reliable, and trustworthy. Mercy is almost like music, it is not charity, and you can’t have great music unless you give everything” said West. Mercy is everywhere in society; it goes beyond justice.
Sarah Rebello, student at Salve Regina University, who attended the event said, “Dr. Cornel West shares a message of love.” West mentioned white privilege and Rebello related it so Salve’s predominantly white community. West’s conversation really emotionally moved everyone in the audience. “West taught me that being a good human is much more important than the materialistic things in life” said Rebello. The attendee expressed that she really enjoyed the event when she said “I thought it was a great and lifechanging event. I feel like I am better at loving because of him” said Rebello.
Alicia Lopez, student at Salve Regina University, works for the multicultural program and also attended the Dr. Cornel West event. The multicultural program workers had to make sure everything during the event went smoothly and give the audiences questions to Dr. West. The thing that stuck out most to Lopez was West’s personality. “He was a really nice guy. I really thought he was well articulated and very educative” said Lopez. It was clear that many people in the audience agreed that the event was really powerful.
Dr. Debra Curtis is an anthropologist and professor at Salve Regina University. Curtis encouraged everyone to attend the event because she knew it was going to be a great one. “I was very excited that Salve was able to bring someone of such prestige and reputation to campus” said Curtis. “Salve was invested in looking at issues around racial diversity and inclusivity. Attending the event was a once in a lifetime experience” said Curtis.
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