Editorial
UW-River Falls pulls off another great, informative TEDx event
March 3, 2016
When it came to the second annual TEDx event at UW-River Falls on Saturday, Feb. 27, there seemed to be a lot of doubt. Following the great success of the first TEDx just last year, there was concern that perhaps those who worked to create the event wouldn't be able to top what they did, or even match it. More concern grew as we found ourselves within a month of the event and there were only two speakers announced.
Despite these concerns, students, faculty and members of the community went online to register for the event in the hopes that they would leave the event with their minds broadened with new and unique topics. Luckily, that is exactly what happened.
The lineup for the event included three students, one faculty member and former graduate of the university, two TED Talk videos and two alumni that have gone on to be successful in their chosen fields. With a diverse set of speakers when it came to topics, background and the emotions that the different talks evoked, there was never a dull moment as the day went on. It was clear that each speaker put a great deal of thought into their words and what they wanted the audience to take away from their talks. With care being put into every aspect of the event, the day moved along smoothly and without a dull moment. As TEDx drew to a close, it was clear that the event lived up to the precedent set by last year's.
UWRF puts on a good amount of events every semester, but one thing that can be lacking is those which feel intellectually stimulating. TEDx is one great example of an event that does this right, as well as such things as the Fall Gala, where undergraduate students get a chance to show off any research projects and other scholarly and creative undertakings. Events like these, which allow people -- particularly students -- the chance to show of their knowledge in a great variety of subjects and pass it on to their peers, really help give UWRF an additional air of erudition. Thus, more opportunities such as those above could attract more students and appeal to current ones with a desire to have their brains tickled.
Although this year's event was smaller than the previous year's, the ideas and conversations that came out of it were nothing but significant. TEDx is the kind of event that one expects from a university, one that is thought-provoking and offers those in attendance the chance to expand their minds. Student Involvement and everyone else who was involved in the planning and execution of this day should be proud of what they accomplished, and we hope to see more of these kinds of events in the future.