Campus Climate: Multiple Choice

“Why am I here?” Everyone asks this question at least once, but depending on what religion you grew up with, you’ve probably heard the standard corresponding answer.

Now, with a new campus group called AskBigQuestions, there is a forum for discussing those questions no one thinks about anymore. “You’ll get different answers to big questions according to how you were raised,” says AskBigQuestions managing director Lexie Komisar, a Weinberg senior. “It’s important to get different religions, philosophies, and communities together. We’re hoping to expand the group, making it richer with ideas and perspectives.”

Already, the group has moved away from its religious roots. When the initiative took off last fall, it was funded exclusively by Hillel for grant reasons. Rabbi Josh Feigelson, director of Northwestern’s Hillel, was disillusioned that universities had “lost the ability to have higher level conversations,” so he founded the group so students could discuss questions that matter, he says.

But ABQ never intended to be strictly Jewish and is currently transitioning into a completely secular, independent entity. The 12-student AskBigQuestions executive board, which formed this year, has further defined and lent purpose to the group, and more non-Jewish students are involved, Komisar says.

There are also a number of executive board members unaffiliated with Hillel. “AskBigQuestions was never supposed to be purely religious. It’s an initiative that is both religious and secular. It’s a great idea to expand and incorporate both ideas,” says Weinberg junior Ashley Tulloch, who joined the board this year.

Slavic language and literature professor Gary Morson explored the quandary of “why are you here?” at the year’s first AskBigQuestions event, held last Thursday. Northwestern is an ideal community for philosophical conversations to unfold, Morson says. “In a sense, it would be harder to have these sorts of conversations at small liberal arts colleges because there are a lot fewer students, so you sometimes have to think a certain way to be accepted,” Morson says. “At too big of a school, you might get lost. Northwestern is the right size. It promotes more exploration.”

AskBigQuestions is still technically sponsored by Hillel but is looking for grants in other departments of the University. Komisar hopes to add an array of religious leaders to the program’s mix. “The team is now really running,” Feigelson says. “We want to expand to other campuses. AskBigQuestions really reflects a new paradigm.”

Feigelson has tapped into a common complaint of Northwestern students. “At school I feel like you come across those questions without even realizing it,” says Medill sophomore Anna Wolonciej. “College is the first time when you’re away from home and figuring out what you’re doing with your life. Talking about big questions in an organized way would be helpful and would make me think more.”

So far, NU faculty seem to agree, and they are taking the first steps. Philosophy professor Mark Sheldon, who teaches controversial courses such as Bioethics, Philosophy of Medicine and Ethical Problems and Public Issues, participated in two ABQ events last year. “There are big questions that get asked in my classes, but I hear a lot from students that they wish there were more opportunities to discuss these topics,” Sheldon says. “The more chances we have to create or experience community here, the better off the university,” he says.

After all, fostering discussing is literally in a teacher’s job description. “Professors think alike on so many things, and we need more point of views. We are too uniform. I like to be provocative. It’s my job to make students think,” Morson says.

These professors have stepped up to try and spread the AskBigQuestions gospel, and it seems to be working. The group has increased its campus presence, and more than 30 students showed up to the first event. Morson, who also led an ABQ discussion for last year, says the advertising has significantly increased. “The change was impressive for one year,” he says. “It’s run by students who really know what they are doing, and it’s a great group.”

For any procrastinators out there, the time is now to start pondering life’s big questions. “It’s good to reflect upon life before it’s passed, so you can know why you make the choices you do,” Morson says. And no matter what your answer, here’s one place you can’t be wrong.

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