s Darwin, ArtSci ’06, first came up with the idea of organizing a student symposium last year as a way to foster discussion about Queen’s identity in the wake of Homecoming 2005. Although originally aimed at finding solutions to the Homecoming problem, the symposium shifted its focus to seven topics including identity, diversity, town-gown relations and tuition. It took an entire year for the event to finally occur due to funding, difficulty booking Grant Hall and creating a concrete set of topics. In the end, $5,500 was spent on an endeavour that probably could have accomplished just as much on a smaller scale. Darwin had big ideas for the symposium. The trouble is, they were too big.
Although hoping for around 400 participants, only 70 students, faculty, and Kingston residents attended the symposium. Most of the participants in attendance are people who are already engaged in these discussions.
While created with the best of intentions, Darwin was perhaps overly ambitious in her breadth and scope. It’s impossible to discuss seven complex topics, such as identity and diversity, with any meaningful depth when you only have 20 minutes in which to do it.
Moreover, unfortunate timing also likely played a role in the weak turnout.
The event received considerable exposure and publicity over the course of the last 12 months, but a series of marketing problems may have also contributed to the low attendance. ittedly, bad timing affected the turnout, but students are also tired of symposiums and abstract discussions. More focus on attracting students currently uninvolved in these types of discussion may have proved a more effective approach.
Darwin was extremely dedicated to her cause and after a year of diligent planning should be commended for finally seeing the project through. Unfortunately, though Darwin said she would like to see the event occur regularly at Queen’s, there doesn’t appear to be enough momentum or willpower for it to continue in the future.
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