Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Can I kiss you?

Can I Kiss You
This Monday, a lecture was given on what is respectful relationships. The lecture was called “Can I Kiss You”. The man, who gave the talk, Mike Dormitz, was a captivating speaker. He understands a great deal that being in a relationship is important, but it means a whole lot more if there is mutual respect between the couple.
Mike Dormitz lecture was interesting and he asked the audience to contribute their ideas about why it is important to show respect in a relationship. In our society, people watch too many movies and are influenced by negative images of relationships. In some aspects, this lecture coincided very well with the Jesuit ideals because it was all about being respectful and strengthening lines of communication.
One of the reasons that the lecture was so good was because Mike Dormitz has a great deal of knowledge about the subject of abusive relationships. Earlier in his life, his sister was the victim of rape. As her younger sibling, it was very hard to deal with this, and evidently he has spent a great deal of time considering how he can move on from the trauma and pain that he felt, and travel around educating younger generations in the subject. Once again, this is a great parallel to the Jesuit ideals of education because they also want to educate the younger generations so they can become better.
Personally, I grew up with an older sister who is one year older than me, and I can understand where the speaker is coming from. When I was young, I would learn a lot more about how to be in a respectful and beneficial relationship from her, than I would from being with my friends. From early in life, my sister always looked out for me, and when I grew up, I did the same for her. I can also identify with the impact that his sister’s rape had because that would be really painful to me as well.
This lecture was very intelligent. The speaker was an excellent example of how Jesuit education can be teaching us. He said that people must always be true to the morals, and that if we see something suspect happening, then go get your drunk friend and don’t let anyone take advantage of them. Also, when you’re dating, remember to be a respectful and treat others how you would want to be treated. Good communication is essential and sometimes people forget this.
Overall, this lecture was excellent because it presented a relevant subject matter. Mike wants us all to remember the importance of having a respectful relationship. His lecture had Jesuit morals and ideas presented in it, with the fact that we all learned something about how to become a smarter community. This lecture was enjoyable and was a great speaker to have at a Jesuit College.

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