Madison Kwiecinski 

News Editor 

Mvk545@psu.edu 

On Thursday, April 7, 2022, a group of Penn State Behrend students are hosting a discussion series in collaboration with Publix Voice Media, which Marcus Atkinson is the CEO of. This speaker series will hopefully be the first of many hosted by Publix Voice Media and the Behrend College. 

The event will take place in an online format from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and is meant to help facilitate meaningful and open conversation between diverse groups of people on challenging topics. The goal of this event is to allow for a better understanding of these subjects through powerful conversations without judgment. 

The panel will consist of several guest speakers and will include Senior Communications Student Claudia Riveria as a representative of the student perspective. Dr. Colleen Kelley, a recently retired communications professor from Behrend is also among the guests speaking on the panel. The discussion will be moderated by Marcus Atkinson and Dr. Lena Surzhko-Harned. Guests from the local Erie area will also join those mentioned above to represent the community perspective on the panel. 

The main topic of this first discussion panel will focus on cancel culture and the impacts it has had on society. The panel is hoping to examine the history of cancel culture and the likelihood of reconciliation during this new age of accessibility to social media. Additionally it will examine the effect that cancel culture has had on college campuses and local communities. 

This discussion series has been well prepared for, as Marcus Atkinson has been collaborating with students and faculty to facilitate this since early last semester. Atkinson has worked in collaboration with several Behrend professors including Dr. Corty, Dr. Carrie Payne and Dr. Deau. This series showcases the diversity and partnership of students who are participating with Publix Voice Media and will hopefully encourage other Behrend students to participate and take advantage of this unique opportunity. 

Chantel Rodriguez, a communications student at Penn State Behrend, has been largely responsible for helping coordinate the panel discussion and set up an event between Behrend and the Publix Voice. Rodrigeuz is an intern at Publix Voice Media, which puts her in a unique position to help establish this partnership and has given her the means to establish, maintain and coordinate relationships across Behrend and the community throughout this process. 

“It’s a new and challenging position for me to take the lead in a panel discussion from start to finish, but it has been a great learning experience for me, and I hope for the students,” said Chantel Rodriguez. 

Several other Behrend students have been highly involved with this project as well through an independent study course offered at Behrend, Comm 496. The other students involved include: Breanna McClain, Matt Mathias, Courtney Balcombe and Gabrielle Doster. 

When speaking on the future of this event, Rodriguez stated, “It’s something I would enjoy doing again if this event can be ongoing after I graduate, which is the goal Marcus has had from the beginning.” She continued, “We want to be able to leave something for the future students of Penn State Behrend to stay connected with our local community.” 

Remember, on April 7, 2022, this panel discussion will be taking place via Zoom from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. and will provide an open format in which difficult conversations can be had without judgment among members of the community and student body. All are invited to attend the event, which will hopefully be the first of many panel collaborations between Penn State Behrend and Publix Voice Media.