On every Tuesday I’m not traveling, I sit down with Occidental Weekly adviser Barbara Thomas and a group of interested students over lunch to discuss recent news coverage in the New York Times. As we parse not just the news but how and why the Times covered particular issues, the conversation can range from Middle Eastern politics, the differences between friendship and romantic love, the risky behavior of woolly mammoths and the links between modern Chinese cinema and the soft power of culture in the global marketplace. While some participants are staffers at The Occidental Weekly – which recently brought home one of the top awards in collegiate journalism – most are simply thoughtful — and perceptive – consumers of news. It’s a lunch date I always look forward to.
