UVA’s ‘Think Again’ Fosters Student Connection With New Program, ‘Food For Thought’

The doors of the Rotunda’s multipurpose room remained open Friday afternoon, encouraging students to stop by and engage with their classmates over a meal. Organized by Think Again founder, Mary Kate Cary, the event, cleverly dubbed as “Food For Thought,” sought to facilitate conversation in a time when silent scrolling often dominates face to face interaction. 

Starting at noon, students chose from a vast assortment of deli sandwiches, courtesy of Take It Away on the Corner, before the room’s many tables erupted in discussion. Group leaders led each table through three tiers of conversation with each tier increasing in the level of significance. Welcoming icebreakers such as “what’s the worst dining hall on grounds?” quickly grew into questions requiring a little more introspection such as “when was the last time you changed your mind on an issue?” Every topic was fair game with controversy more than welcome. All opinions—left, right, religious, skeptical—were allowed a space to express themselves. Students eventually took the lead on their own, sifting through issues of abortion, Native American rights, gun control, the Israel-Palestine conflict, as well as many more.

“I really appreciated the event creating a space to just talk,” said a student who attended Food For Thought, “whether people agree or not, these topics are simply not talked about […] in most settings.”

While the event had planned to only extend from 12 to 1, a few tables decided to continue their dialogues past even the two hour mark. Afterward, Mary Kate Cary seemed thrilled that these students “walked away with more than food to digest.”

‘Food For Thought’ is the first event in a larger initiative, spearheaded by Think Again, known as ‘Free Speech Fridays.’ March’s contribution to the initiative will be titled ‘Disagree With A Professor,’ and multiple academics including Sherri Moore, David Leblang, and Allan Stam will be able to respond to various questions posed by students.

“We can truly learn so much from each other,” the student further remarked about her classmates, “we have more in common than we think.”