Geneseo TEDx hosts this semester’s event

SUNY Geneseo’s TEDx organization will be hosting this semester’s TEDx event on Sunday, Mar. 6. Tickets are ten dollars and can be purchased at universe.com. This semester’s theme is “Standing at a Crossroads,” focusing on cultural resets that we are seeing globally.

Raj Patel, senior biology major and president of the TEDx organization, said “[TEDx is] a professional organization on campus—we're licensed by TED. We're in charge of hosting annual events once a year.”

This semester, TEDx will be focusing on the current cultural shifts we are seeing both nationally and globally. This semester’s speakers will be covering a variety of topics that include white supremacy and racism, the philosophical hurdles associated with masking and vaccine refusal, embracing sorrow to find joy and new ways of learning for the future of education. 

Professor David Hahn of the philosophy department at SUNY Geneseo will be speaking on the reasons many people are resistant to wearing masks and getting vaccinated, and how to educate them to produce change. 

Patel said, “[Prof. Hahn] is giving a talk about the education system, specifically about the significance of conspiracies and the dangers of conspiracies. He's going to tie in the fright behind vaccination, the misinformation that's spread, the conspiracies of microchipping and he's going to dive into a lot of cool conspiracies, aside from the COVID vaccine.” 

Understanding why such a large portion of the population subscribe to conspiracy theories, and therefore eschew any pleas for mask-wearing and vaccinations, can lead to ways to re-educate these populations and hopefully, change minds and attitudes. 

According to Patel, Dr. Donna Vallese will be giving a talk on how the way the education system is structured to teach students is not consistent with the current research, and how the education system needs to be revised to teach students more successfully.

Caili Danieu, a clinical psychologist, will be discussing her own personal trauma, and how embracing her mental health and her pain allowed her to experience and find joy in her own life, in the hopes that listeners can learn how to embrace their own pain to find peace, happiness and harmony. 

“She's a life coach and a psychic medium,” Patel said. “She's worked several years as a therapist before pursuing her dream job self-employment, life coach on death doula.”

Lastly, Russell Thomas Ellis, a social media influencer, will speak about his experiences in a “sundown” town, where racial segregation and prejudice is still practiced and taught. Ellis wishes to tell his story of growing up in a community of white supremacists, how he learned the negative impacts and the evil of racism, and how to dismantle white supremacy from the inside. 

“We thought these topics are the most with our theme that we developed,” Patel said. “The past several years have amplified some of these crucial moments in this sort of cultural reset, how to learn and adapt, [and asking], ‘what are we doing sitting at a crossroad?’”

Patel continued, “It's a college campus and on top of that, people who usually struggle with mental health issues often feel like they are lost, or they don't know where to go, and they feel stuck. And we have racism, which will forever be something embedded in this country.”

The topic of white supremacy and racism is an especially important one. Patel explained, “[Racism is] a perpetual battle uphill, but it's something that you can't give up on. So, we figured it would be good to talk about that as well… Especially [hearing from] someone [Ellis] who's had an experience being part of a white supremacist group and has a long history and a career built upon talking about essentially trying to dismember racism from the inside and dismantling white supremacy in our day and age.”

TEDx is a very serious organization on campus. According to Patel, a group must be licensed by TED in order to host TED events. There are a myriad of requirements and regulations on who is speaking, what they are speaking about and how events are organized and run.

TEDx events are also incredibly expensive. Patel explained, “We have to usually accommodate [speakers]—like, we pay for flights and hotels when we bring them in.”

“Most of [the cost] comes from paying for the travels and hotels for most speakers, and providing food during intermission with CAS,” Patel said. “Every year, we apply for [a] grant [to cover the costs].”

TEDx is a professional organization, and anyone wishing to apply or to get involved can attend an event and speak to an organizer or apply for a position in the fall.