UTRGV discusses the ban of Plato’s ‘The Symposium’
Professor Mariana Alessandri starts the discussion about Texas A&M’s banning of Plato’s “The Symposium” on March 26 at the Caffeine Library. Logan Huizar/Pulse
The UTRGV student-led organization Phil and Sophie’s, a philosophy group, held a public discussion at the Caffeine Library on March 26, to discuss the banning of Plato’s “The Symposium” at Texas A&M University.
“The Symposium” is a philosophical text that explores sex, gender, and the understanding of knowledge through the dialogue of a gathering of men.
Marianna Alesandri, a professor in the Department of Philosophy said, “Throughout history people have found Plato dangerous.”
According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Plato was a philosopher during ancient Greece, with his work being put on trial over many years..
According to Alessandri, a professor at Texas A&M was told he wasn’t allowed to teach Plato’s “The Symposium” due to race and gender ideology issues.
“We are never trying to tell students what to think or how to think. I think that’s the grand misconception,” Alessandri said. “That if you teach a text you’re endorsing it, and that’s the furthest thing of what we do.”
The professor added that at Texas A&M University a board overlooks professors’ syllabus, voting on whether or not they are allowed to teach it, even if the board has no expertise on the subject.
Randall Monty, a UTRGV professor of Rhetoric Compositions and Literacy Studies said, “what we should or should not teach, are things that are ongoing, and these are conversations that we should be having.”
Students and café attendees all discussed the discourse the event had caused. The Caffeine Library allowed them to hold a symposium of their own.
Jaime Montelongo, co-owner of the Caffeine Library said, “We think that this discussion is super important, especially as a place that sells books.”
In their public discussion, students expressed their point of view on the decision.
Michael Cole, a philosophy senior, said, “I feel like right now more than ever, it’s an important topic of what can and what can’t be talked about. Especially in our country, it is more than anything else a very hot debate.”
The Caffeine Library is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Sunday and is located at 1518 W University Dr. in Edinburg.
