Newly appointed Vice President of Student Affairs Damon Sims fielded questions, touching on issues from student government to lowering the drinking age, from about 20 Schreyer Honors College (SHC) students during a "fireside chat" in Atherton Hall Monday night.
The college, which regularly hosts administrators and trustees for similar discussions, invited Sims to come speak even before he officially began his tenure at Penn State, said Donna Meyer, SHC coordinator of student programs.
"So many of our scholars are engaged at so many levels," Meyer said. "It's a venue to speak directly ... a great way to have a dialogue about diverse issues."
Sims fielded questions from students on various topics for about an hour.
But he added he planned to learn from the discussion as well.
"I am not the font of all insight about Penn State," he said, laughing.
Sims stressed the need to reach out to students beyond the student leaders he regularly meets with and suggested inviting students at random to discuss issues facing them.
Students Monday night raised questions on various issues.
College Libertarians President Alex Weller mentioned the Amethyst Initiative, a group of university presidents who have pledged to "rethink" the drinking age, and asked Sims if he thought lowering the drinking age was a good idea. Penn State President Graham Spanier declined to support the initiative.
"Colleges and universities across the country have thrown millions of dollars at [preventing dangerous drinking]," Sims said. "I think if anyone tells you they've made a dent, they're lying to you."
He added that research has shown that lowering the drinking age would not necessarily decrease dangerous drinking and advocated for "a wholly new approach" to the issue.
Answering a question about student apathy, especially in relation to last year's University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) elections, Sims said that the student government needs to "have successes that students see as successes."
"People's interest is directly related to the degree they believe that government will do something for us," he said, adding that he plans to help UPUA with proposed projects like a student legal services clinic.
"A strong student government is actually good for the university as a whole," Sims said.
Attendees said they appreciated Sims' candor and accessibility.
"It seems like he really wants to increase dialogue between students and the administration," Farnaz Farhi (junior-biology and women's studies) said after the discussion.
Emily Barfoot (junior-general science) said she enjoyed the discussion, but wished more students had attended.
"Major members of the Schreyer Honors College community were represented, but I feel we need to get more people's opinions," she said.
SHC Dean Christian Brady said Sims "seems like just the right person to be here."
"I think he understands his job is getting in touch with students," he said.
Sims, who stayed after the discussion to speak with students individually, said he was pleased.
"These are wonderful students," he said. "[They're] very friendly, very interested in the university."
