‘Yuuge’ issue discussed by guest speaker
The Waynesburg University Honors Program presented their yearly evening address for the student body and the surrounding Waynesburg community on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m. The talk was titled “Inequality is a Yuuge Problem (But Not for the Reason You Think).” The topic of the address was centered around the issues of inequality in America.
The speaker of the event was Associate Professor of Economics at James Madison University Bob Subrick who presents at similar events six to 12 times per year. When Dr. William Batchelder, associate professor of history and director of the Honors Program, saw Subrick at another economical conference in March 2016, he decided to invite him to speak at the evening address.
“I talked to [Subrick] over the summer, and he told me he did different versions of the inequality talk,” said Batchelder. “When I asked him what it was like, he told me there was something in it that could offend everybody. And I told him that’s what I want.”
Batchelder said Subrick’s address, which was given only two weeks before the Nov. 8 presidential election, surprisingly goes into more detail than is exposed through the presidential candidates.
“Until the election completely lost its mind, wealth and equality was one of the most major issues,” Batchelder said.
However, with a title that has a direct reference to a common phrase of political candidate Donald Trump, Subrick said the title and the topic of the address were more ironic than anything.
“Inequality has dropped off the discussion – I think that’s been the most striking thing when you think about inequality in the United States,” Subrick said. “It was prominent in the discussions of the Democratic primaries, but once the conventions happened, it just disappeared. Even the press has gone out of their way to really downplay the issue.”
However, despite the fallout the topic has had in the election, Batchelder said this topic is still important for Americans to be educated on, especially those interested in economics, history and the well-being of the country’s future as a whole.
“Whenever Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are accusing each other of whatever is going on in their personal lives, we can still see wealth and economy as a personal theme,” said Batchelder. “We are still being exposed to a lot of that language.”
More than the educational or political component, Batchelder sees evening addresses like those provided by the Honors Program as outlets to improve the student body and the surrounding community.
“I think it’s a responsibility when you have a program for honors students. Our program is not turned inward for those students alone,” said Batchelder. “It is also turned outward to the campus as a whole. We don’t want the Honors student light to be hidden under a basket, but instead to be shared with everyone.”
Subrick agrees that events like these can be beneficial for the student body here on campus.
By learning something outside of the classroom, he said students can learn more than ever before.
“I think it’s good for students to see that things that are sometimes presented in classes come off as more accepted than they generally are,” Subrick said. “I encourage all students to attend all public forums that don’t conflict with class, because that’s where the real learning happens.”