Benjamin Rush envisioned  a “community of inquiry” when he founded Dickinson College in 1783. This expression can be found on our website, in admissions materials such as brochures and leaflets and even spouted by professors and administrators. Yet what exactly is a community of inquiry?

For me, a community of inquiry is one where students have lively debates about issues on the local, national and international levels. These debates happen because people are up-to-date with current events and because they care about the societies in which they live. Nobody is afraid to speak their mind and stand up for what they believe in, and they do it in a respectful manner. In short, it is putting into practice what a liberal arts education is supposed to teach you: to be an engaged citizen who can think critically about issues and articulate one’s thoughts clearly and effectively.

I don’t believe Dickinson is this place yet. When Michael Brown was shot by Officer Darren Wilson in 2014, protests erupted around the country – including at Dickinson. During that time, I saw students’ demonstrations, from moments of silence at Britton Plaza – in which I participated – and a die-in outside Social Hall during faculty meeting. Last semester more protests for social justice issues occurred on campus, such as support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

While the examples I provided make it seem like we are an actively engaged campus community, an analysis of the participants of said protests shows a different picture: most of the time, the same students/student groups lead these demonstrations. Posse scholars. Minorities. Social justice-inclined students. Friends of said students. The result, it seems to me, is a lot of preaching to the choir: students who attend such demonstrations are those who also agree with the message of the demonstrators, whose views, in turn, remain unchallenged. A large number of people holding an unchallenged view creates groupthink – reasoning or decision-making by a group that is characterized by the uncritical acceptance of or conformity to prevailing points of view –  regardless of what that view is or whether we are talking about a social justice issue or economic policy.

The question is: why are some people on campus more vocal than others? There are many possible reasons. One can be that the student demonstrators are also the ones more attuned to and passionate about national issues. Another could be group affiliation. As a Posse scholar, I know that many of us take the saying that Posse is “not a program, it is a movement” to heart and thus are inspired to be civically engaged and bring about change to wherever we are. My suspicion, however, is that many students are not as vocal as the groups I have mentioned because they are afraid to speak up. Why? Because they don’t want to say the wrong thing, or they don’t want to offend anyone, or they don’t think they have a place in the table. In short, they don’t know how to get the conversation started.

Thankfully, there are options. A couple years ago, Dickinson hosted Sustained Dialogues, an initiative to “develop everyday leaders who engage differences as strengths to improve campuses, workplaces, and communities.” The Union Philosophical Society also provides a safe space to debate about a myriad of topics of local, national and international relevance. Academic departments and student groups also host talks about important issues, and anyone is welcome to join them.

When I was in high school I founded my school’s only international students association. Frustrated with the turnout of the last meeting, I turned to my favorite teacher for help. She told me,

“You can lead the horse to the water, but you can’t make the horse drink it.” While it is true that it is up to each student to decide whether they want to be civically engaged in their campus community, I still believe that together we can indeed be a community of inquiry.