Basic Thoughts
Faculty panel discussions can be an excellent opportunity to bring forward professors who are known on the campus and who will be able to knowledgeably argue their position. It can also serve as an excellent opportunity to attract new members to your organization.
When we organized our panel, Why War? felt that the best way to accomplish these goals was to offer a faculty panel discussion that had three professors with different viewpoints. Your goal should really be to attract as many students from outside the peace movement as possible; therefore you should have at least one professor who supports the war in some way. Students need to first be committed to holding a rational and thought-out position on the war before they will be able to reconsider their views. Having a pro-war professor allows students to hear arguments in support of the war that they have likely heard many times before, but it also exposes them to the specific critiques the peace movement makes of each of those arguments.
In order to keep the panel discussion from degrading into a panel debate (which professors will likely not be pleased to be a part of, and which is not as educational for students) we kept the format simple. Professors were given 15 minutes to give their personal opinions on the war. The professors themselves determined the order. The student moderator then opened the floor for questions, and this lasted another hour. Each professor was allowed to respond to any question.
Getting the Professors
We’ve found the most effective strategy of finding professors is to simply go to their office and ask them. After several e-mails asking professors to volunteer to be on our panel, it was only after we went to their actual offices and explained what we were trying to organize and asked for their support that they agreed.
Think outside of the box in terms of who would be interesting to have on the panel. A philosophy professor might be interesting for example, especially if they teach a class on moral philosophy; a history professor might be able to give an interesting perspective as well. Be sure to ask professors you may not know, and make sure to consider a few in fields such as the natural sciences — it is hard to guess who will be a supporter of the peace movement.
Also remember that, ideally, these people will be involved in future events that you put on, so be friendly and be sure they are happy with how things proceed.
Publicity
Publicity is vital. Signs in bathroom stalls and chalkings announcing the panel are a good place to start. You may also want to notify the school paper, and try to get into the school events calendar. Ensure that as many people as possible are aware there is a faculty panel discussion, and ask the professors to publicize the event as well.
The Panel
Estimate how politically interested your campus is, and find a space on campus that will hold that number of people. It is probably best to err on the side of small, because that will give the impression that your event is “packed” and will provide better photos for your school’s news media. If fewer than expected students show up, ask them to move to the front so that they are seated closely together. Rules regarding the reservation of space are likely different on each campus, but the faculty members will likely be able to help you with that. If you are able to get academic departments (for example, political science) to co-sponsor the event with you, this might smoothen the process for reserving space.
The panel should be seated at a long table and each member given a glass of water. Seat pro-war next to anti-war and don’t create the impression of sides, i.e. don’t have all the anti-war people on one side and all the pro-war people on the other.
The moderator should set the tone by giving an introduction of why the panel is occurring (to increase the amount of discussion about the war on campus) and should introduce each professor. Then it’s up to the professors and their audience to guide the course of the panel.
After the Panel
Remember to have a sign up sheet where people can join your organization’s mailing list. Also, a table with peace information may be a good idea.