Phillip Cozzi, Editor of student newspaper The Current
February 16, 2023

“When are limitations on free speech justified in America? With the advance of technology, it is easy to connect with our friends, blast our thoughts and feelings to our followers and practice free speech,” said Angela Kariotis the campus’ director of diversity and inclusion in her description the Civility Week event she’s hosting, “Living Room Conversation: Free Speech, Hate Speech and Campus Life.”

Civility Week is wrapping up here at Brookdale with a few more programming blocks today and tomorrow. “In this era of being connected all the time, we long to feel safe, while at the same time we are exposed via social media. How can we best protect free speech on campus? How do we distinguish between disagreement, bullying and hate speech? Are there areas of common ground to be found?” Kariotis will be holding the event today, Feb. 16, in the SLC’s Twin Lights one conference room at noon.

Later today, adjunct arts Professor Elisa Elorza will be holding, “Pushing and Pulling: Media as Medium” in the CVA gallery from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The event aims to “invite you into a space created by using design as a research methodology to investigate social media, AI and our creative selves.”

Tomorrow, (Friday), “Transcending Divisions: Global Read Event – The Book of Joy: Selected Readings and Discussion” and “Social Media and the Agora: Musings on Civility and Antiquity.” Transcending Divisions is hosted by Psychology Dr. Rajkumari Wesley.

The event features a group discussion of passages from “The Book of Joy” presented by students enrolled in Brookdale’s Global Citizenship Distinction Program. The event will be held as a webinar on Zoom from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. Registration for the event will provide you with the conference details.

Focusing on comparisons between social media and the public forums of Greek antiquity, Bryan Cocchiara will be hosting, “Social Media and the Agora: Musings on Civility and Antiquity.”
“With any luck, this reflection, taking shape in the form of a lecture, will both raise and answer questions about human nature, civility, politics, and technology,” Cocchiara said.

The event will be held in the SLC’s Twin Lights one conference room from 12:30 to 2, will require registration, and will be followed by a Q&A.

For more information, visit: https://www.brookdalecc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Spring-2023-Civility-Week-Program-final.pdf