Weekly psychology lunches draw students, faculty

By Tiffany Litzelman
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Room 104 in Ainsworth hall is an unusually busy place during what is normally students' lunch hour on Wednesday afternoons. The room is often filled at that hour with students, most of them psychology majors, all facing the front of the room listening to a speaker present a topic.

Annette Tanner, a 23-year-old junior psychology major from San Antonio, Tex., frequently attends the weekly lunchtime discussions.

"I like the presentations, and I like the discussions. Sometimes you get one that doesn't really relate to psychology," Tanner said. "I wish there were more risqué topics."

The psychology department at Norwich has been holding weekly luncheons, or as they are more commonly called, Psych lunches, for 14 years now.

The presentations cover a range of topics. Almost anything is fair game as long as it is related to psychology. So far this semester, topics such as Computer Science and Psychology, Personality and Cognitive Maps, and "Is the Brain Wired for God?" have been presented.

Until this year the luncheons were held in Ainsworth 104, but because a growing number of psychology students and the growing interest in the presentations, the discussions have occasionally been moved to one of the classrooms in Webb, where it is easier to accommodate a larger crowd.

One occasion where the discussion had to be move was when Milt Hammond, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of psychology, gave a presentation on "The Science of Sexuality" earlier this year. According to Hammond, there was such a large group of students that it could not be contained in Ainsworth 104.

"Doc (Hammond) had that one this year and he had a full house," Tanner said. "It draws people in. I think we should hit on current topics, and what hits people in general: relationships, sex, and gender roles."

Although most of those attending the luncheon are psychology majors, Tanner said students of all majors are welcome to attend.

"As we publicize more widely around the campus, we do get more people coming in from other majors, and we have more professors from other areas come to join us," said Carol Bandy, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology. "Oftentimes we get some criminal justice majors who come in for some of the stuff that has to do with forensic psychology."

According to Hammond, there are a few reasons for the luncheon. One is to get students interested in psychology.

"We have a chance to cover subjects that we really don't get a chance to cover in class, subjects that are fun or interesting or en vogue, or popular," Hammond said. "It gives the students a chance to hear us talk outside of the classroom in a non-threatening way. It's more fun and relaxed. It's kind of hard to take things too seriously when someone's crunching on a Frito."

An additional purpose for the luncheon is to get psychology majors to socialize more with each other.

"One goal is to get students together in a more informal setting and to create some opportunity for psychology majors to see themselves as a group and to bond with each other and the professors and to become more involved," Bandy said.

"Outside of the Psych Lunch, people will always say, 'hey are you going to Psych Lunch today?' Or they'll say, 'tell me what happens in Psych Lunch, because I can't go today,'" Tanner said.

During the spring semester, the presentations are primarily given by seniors in the psychology department. Each senior is required to research and present his or her results at a conference. The luncheon is a practice run for them.

"They want to go to this conference and not embarrass themselves," Hammond said. "They give a dry run at a luncheon. This is their in-house presentation, where we can critique and criticize what they've done so they don't walk into a strange arena and make these mistakes."

"That's probably the best time to go is in the second semester, when the seniors present their research," said Mandee Juza, a 20-year-old senior psychology major from Blue River, Ore. "That's a good time for the underclassmen, especially, because the Juniors who are going to present the next year can learn from the Seniors' mistakes."

Although the luncheon is voluntary, Bandy and Hammond strongly encourage the students to attend. According to Hammond, he is more likely to write a recommendation for students who attend the luncheon.

"We write that stuff down and remember it, and when students graduate, they come to us and say 'I really want a job' and they want a reference," Hammond said. "Our opinion of students is being formulated not just in the classroom. If you can make it, you should be here. On the other hand, it's not right to demand that you be at the lunch."

According to Juza, this does influence her "slightly."

"They do everything they can to get us to come," said Juza. "We're always out for a good recommendation"

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