Looking forward to Forum

My name is Madisyn Stogsdill, I’m a junior and I study journalism and art. This is my third year writing for The Augustana Mirror and my first time as your Forum Editor.

I am particularly interested in this section as it tweaks the traditional expectations of journalistic writing. Many who come to our meetings are nervous to volunteer for a story, feeling as if they have too little experience. In Forum, the goal isn’t to be an expert but to embrace that there is always more to know. Through this process, as a campus, we get to hear from those who otherwise wouldn’t have access to a platform to speak their mind.

Here, students are not encouraged to step down from their metaphorical soapboxes but instead to write about them. A soapbox piece is compiled purely from the individual’s personal beliefs and experiences. It discusses something so near to a person that it makes them feel alive simply to write about it. In this form of writing, there is nobody to argue against. There is no judgment, and your topic doesn’t have to be scholarly — the academic pressures of university are stripped away. It is just you and your thoughts.

A challenge isn’t entirely terrible, though. In fact, it is part of ensuring that students actually speak their minds. Angles pieces offer perspectives of two students arguing either side of one question. People usually shy away from debate, but here, it is welcome. The difference from typical conversation is that competition is not encouraged but rather understanding. This patience and space are not usually allowed in present social atmospheres. If we keep that silence up, we’re screwed. If we write, there’s hope. 

I’ve loved working for the Mirror ever since I started. Over the years, I have seen our staff become more comfortable with bending the unspoken rules of what should and shouldn’t be discussed and have seen our student community do the same. We can always do better, though.

At the end of the day, through all of our deeply intricate and differing thoughts, we each did something in our lives that led us to this very moment — reading this story, attending Augustana. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and while your neighbor may have a different upbringing and political affiliation, they are still living and breathing. They still ended up here at the very same time as you. We are all divinely meant to be in this moment, but we are guiding ourselves through that in a way that leads to more ignorance of our similarities — a classic tale that we have all heard but which nobody wants to do anything about.

This isn’t just about politics. In this column, we discuss everything, and you should do the same in your personal conversations — whether strongly advocating for your favorite food or your opinions on international war. Both have a right to appear in this paper and in discussions with your roommate. However, the motive in starting these conversations should be to learn from one another, not to “win.” 

By the end of this year, I want to read something written for my column that is so shocking, compelling and eye-opening that I am reaffirmed that there is still hope for the human race; we can at least start with our school. Write about those opinions you’ve clung onto since grade school, the ideas that have popped into your head late at night as you try to sleep, the stories you’ve recalled while taking a shower. 

One sentence may seem small to you, but it can lead to an entire discussion. Go ahead. Make us think.