CMC's Got an Idea (Night) for You.
March 23, 2010
The Forum

If you've been trying to snag a spot for this Thursday's Idea Night dinner, you may have noticed that the meal is FULL. That's right. No more room at dinner. But if you still want to see CMC students spit mad rhetoric (which you do), you can always come by at 6:45pm for the presentations -- but come early, you'll want a good seat. We had dozens of great applicants but in the end we could only choose six. So without further ado, here are the speakers who will be competing in this year's Forum Idea Night:
Circular Thinking, Jeremy Wolff: The simple application of the circle can change the way we live. I will argue that applying the design concept of a circle to buildings, specifically airports, restaurants, and malls, as well as parks, cities, and countries, will improve our quality of life.
Poverty Has Nothing to do with Money, John-Clark Levin and Jason Soll: We intend to offer startling and provocative reasons to believe poverty not only has nothing to do with money, but the incorrect use of money may in fact worsen the problem. Our presentation will force the audience to totally rethink bailouts, education, and healthcare. We'll reframe an age-old debate in a way that all CMCers, liberals and conservatives, can agree is better.
The Committee, Eric Scott and Ben Kraus: ASCMC is an organization that does an incredible job with some things, and not others. We propose that this specialization is ultimately good for the student body and that ASCMC should stick to doing what it does well. CMC needs, we will argue, a separate, independent committee to focus on bettering student life.
Roman Execution: A Practicum, Emily Forden: Ancient Rome had different ideas of punishment, ones which make waterboarding seem like child's play. During my ten minutes I will attempt to illustrate them for you by recreating the punishment known as "The Sack." Audience participation will be needed. Simply put, torture will be performed in the Ath.
The Future of Philanthropy, Roxanne Phen: Private foundations are stuck in the past and are giving money away without ensuring results, but a new legal structure created in 2008 is giving foundations a way to step into the future and expand upon their charitable activities. For a school that says “civilization prospers with commerce," I'll explain to CMCers how to help save the world and make (some) money at the same time.
The Technological Utopia, Alex Caldwell: In an age when many fear that the human race is within a century or so of self destruction, we may actually be fast approaching Utopia: a robot-run world where man enjoys 100% leisure time with the highest quality of life possible. But will we be happy? I'll explain the idea of "the technological singularity" and explore its implications for society.