Searching for truth? Ever wonder what effect porn may have on relationships and society at large? Curious about how the media shapes society’s conception of beauty or whether religious pluralism is even valid?
Then look no further than the Veritas Forum for answers.
Veritas, so named for the Latin word for truth, is a four-day long, campus-wide event focusing on – you guessed it – truth. Sponsored by Associated Students Inc., Campus Crusade for Christ and the John Templeton Foundation, the event’s goal is to discuss some of life’s hardest questions (including the ones mentioned above) by bringing together students from all walks of life.
“We just want to bring the whole campus together to enjoy each other in conversation,” said David Foglesong, Veritas co-leader and art and design senior. “I think that we don’t have that a lot at this campus, and that is why we’re providing a way of allowing students to discuss a lot of hard questions with each other. It’s going to be good.”
This campus-wide pursuit of truth is from a decidedly Christian point of view, though.
“We present these issues in a Christian context, which means speakers may have personal backgrounds in Christianity that aid their study or research issues like porn, in which speakers have been changed by the aspects of Christianity,” said Elise Bartley, Fogleson’s co-leader and art and design senior.
But coordinators emphasized that the talks are open to everyone in the community, not just Christians.
Planning for the forum began last June. As Bartley explained it, during the initial stages she and others brainstormed questions and topics college students wrestle with on a regular basis. Ultimately, they decided to focus on social and cultural issues this year, and how these issues affect people. Once they had decided on the topics, the search for scholars specializing in those areas began. Bartley and Foglesong were helped along by a team of 24 students who helped coordinate everything from publicity to finances to the Veritas Web site.
The event will kick off tomorrow with Fazale Rana’s talk “What Darwin Didn’t Know,” which explores recent scientific discoveries regarding the origin and structure of life, and how these tie into Darwin’s theory of evolution. Other science-themed events Tuesday include a talk by Douglas Estes in which he will discuss the concepts of chronology, history and theology in the ancient world as they apply to the life of Jesus, and “The Cell’s Design: How Biochemistry Reveals the Work of a Creator,” also led by Rana.
Wednesday’s talks will focus on sex and love with “Is Christian Love Biologically Impossible?” (11 a.m.),”Sex, Love, and Marriage” (1 p.m.) and “PORN Nation” (8 p.m.).
The week’s biggest event, “PORN Nation,” is a 75-minute multimedia presentation that explores the impact porn, and living in our hyper-sexual culture in general, might have on students and their relationships with others. Foglesong noted that the talk will, in some ways, be similar to last year’s Ron Jeremy talk, sans the debate format and with a greater focus on how porn affects culture. “PORN Nation” will take place Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Chumash Auditorium.
Thursday will be devoted to the Veritas Coffeehouse and campus-wide discussions. The Coffeehouse will take place in University Union room 220 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will feature artwork and short films. Food and drinks will be provided. Discussion boards will also be placed around campus – in or on UU Plaza, Dexter Lawn, Campus Market, Poly Canyon Village and the Rec Center – and provide a blank canvas on which students and faculty members can respond to previous talks, present their own take on the topics or raise questions of their own.
The Veritas Forum will conclude Friday with a mixture of talks focusing on beauty and femininity (Lilian Barger’s “The Death of Beauty: The Role of Beauty in the Mass Media and Spirituality” at 11 a.m. and “Biblical Religion and the Sacred Feminine” at 6 p.m.) and theology (Paul Copan’s “Atheism vs. Theism” at 1 p.m. and “The Plurality of Religions” at 8 p.m.).
“This is what we feel is hitting our culture a lot,” Fogelsong said. “We live in such a broken world, and a lot of (these talks) just try to get to the center of the matter in people’s relationships. That was kind of our goal.”
These are all questions people wrestle with to varying degrees, agreed financial coordinator and business senior Craig Moberg. “But, I think (most) people won’t go out there and pursue the answers themselves. I don’t think that most people are too motivated to find them and I think that most people just hope that the answers come to them somehow through a teacher, an anonymous person, an event or a close friend.”
But that is Veritas’ goal, he said, to provide people with some possible explanations – and then to continue the discussion.
“I would love to see discussion arise on campus in which people are willing to ask of themselves and people around them the questions they wrestle with and hear some possible explanations and reasons as to why they exist,” Bartley said.
“I think oftentimes we can choose to be ignorant or simply to ignore our big questions out of an attempt to remain comfortable when, in reality, these questions plague all of us. I would love to see a campus seeking out truth with one another.”
Each talk will last about 45 minutes and be followed by a 45-minute question-and-answer session. All of the week’s talks, with the exception of Thursday’s, will take place in the Chumash Auditorium.