The Honors Program had its first Honors Lunch Network of the Fall 2025 semester. With outstanding attendance from both new and experienced Honors students, our Co-Directors Dr. Bert Emerson and Dr. Joy York introduced the Lunch Network and their new plans for it this year. Last Fall we centered our discussions on Democracy and Discourse in light of the 2024 Presidential Election, last Spring we focused on Professionalism and Life after Undergrad. This semester they hope to lean more into the problems of today and what we, the students, care about.

Students ranked eleven topics on a scale from 1 (‘high interest’) to 4 (‘low interest’).  The topics are as follows:

• Should Psychedelics be used as a viable medical treatment alternative?
• What are viable solutions to address the homelessness crisis?
• Should deepfake technology be regulated by law?
• Should interpretations of religious texts change over time?
• Is social media a threat or benefit to democracy?
• To what degree should modern justice systems include religious principles?
• What is the role of art in society, and should the art itself be separate from the artist?
• Should students us AI in their assignments? Should Faculty use AI in their teaching?
• What is the role of comedy in society?
• Is justice more important than peace?

These topics would be accompanied by a Faculty or staff member who was knowledgeable in that area of expertise to help lead the discussions.  

Once students voted and Bert opened it up for questions, there seemed to be a lot of interest and concern over Whitworth’s AI policy and official stance. Discussion about who was dictating the policy, how it would be enforced, and to what degree of strictness closed out the hour.

Our first Lunch Network was a smashing success, and I can’t wait to see all new faces next week over some tasty Costco pizza and cookies.