Award-winning author Terry Tempest Williams dreams about triangles.
Not just any triangles, Tempest said, but neon green triangles with the words “porpoise,” “soul” and “service” written on each one of the three points.
In her dream, the “porpoise” jumped over “soul” and into “service” and kept doing so until Williams realized that the purpose of her soul was to partake in service, she said. This dream was part of a speech given during “An Evening of Conscience” Thursday evening.
Aimed at spreading awareness about human rights, the event featured Williams, Mexican poet and former diplomat Homero Aridjis and human-rights activist and photographer Sebastio Salgado.
“Conscience,” along with two open student discussions Wednesday morning, was purposely placed between the two most consuming holidays of the year, College of Humanities Dean Robert Newman said.
“We scheduled these events between the two most materialistic holidays of the year, Thanksgiving and Christmas, so people could have a chance to reflect and be more conscious about what is happening in the world,” Newman said.
Salgado discussed his photo exhibit “Exodus,” a visual chronicle depicting the global movement of refugees and immigrants throughout 40 different countries.
“I hope that the person who visits my exhibition and the person that comes out are not quite the same,” Salgado said.
Tyler Prete, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, said that hearing Salgado and seeing his exhibit opened his eyes to worldwide issues.
“Hearing Salgado’s stories makes me want to go out there and do something to help the world,” he said. “It makes me want to be the change in the world that he’s talking about.”
Williams, Aridjis and Salgado had a lasting impression on their audience during “Conscience” and during their personal encounters during the open discussions.
“The thing that stands out to me about these three figures is how much emotion they carry with them,” said Elizabeth Goodman, a sophomore in mass communication.