Rachel Wyncoop/Staff Photographer
It could have been called the conference of milk and honey; ideas flowed as Seton Hall students and South Orange leaders came together Saturday, Nov. 8, at the first Seton Hall/South Orange Leadership Symposium.
“I’m very happy about this,” student event coordinator Craig Witmer said. “This exceeded my expectations.”
The event went according to his hoping that students and the community can come together to have a conversation to solve common problems, or at least get the ideas flowing.
“It was having people that don’t have leadership connections in South Orange normally, who really have great ideas, just throwing them in a room together,” Witmer said.
People were able to have a conversation with each other and look past the bureaucracy and formality in order to, as Witmer puts it, have a real conversation and get things done.
Samantha Cutrone, logistics coordinator and moderator for the event, said the event went as smoothly as possible for this being the first time and not knowing what to expect.
“All we really hoped for was for meaningful conversation to happen and that did happen,” Cutrone added. “You can only plan so much and nothing ever goes the way that you plan.”
Both students and town leaders gave positive feedback and, according to Witmer, are looking forward to convening again next year. Witmer hopes to hold another symposium next semester.
While the fall event was more of a working session, the spring event will focus more on the presentation of the work done in the meantime.
“Right now, it’s more focused on keeping the conversations going,” Witmer said. “A whole lot of good things came out of (the conference) but there’s always more that could be done.”
The ideas brought up during the conference are now in progress toward fruition. Cutrone is currently coordinating efforts to put leaders and students in contact with one another to further the conversation. For example, Patricia Canning, a representative from the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race, brought up the idea of suggested required reading for the freshman studies class. The material, with themes of race and toleration, will act as a cohesive method towards bringing the diverse community together, along with students, aligning with the theme of intentional integration. Cutrone is helping the freshman studies program come together to discuss the feasibility of such a project.
“The fact that more is happening after that event to further the discussion is kind of what makes this event special,” Cutrone said. “The conversation doesn’t stop there.”
Emily Balan can be reached at emily.balan@student.shu.edu.
