Inigo and Dominque entered Proctor as new juniors this fall and were immediately blown away by the opportunities to form student-led clubs on campus. Both young men have taken full advantage of the freedom to pursue their passions by forming their own club on campus, Proctor ID.



With the help of Social Science Department Chair Phil Goodnow as a faculty advisor to the group, Proctor ID has worked to maintain a clear focus this fall by looking at current economic issues, including discussions surrounding the European debt crisis and the cost/benefit of going 'green'.



For both young men, an interest in economic issues and a desire to better understand current events and their impact on our immediate community drove the formation of this group.

While the content they are discussing is fascinating, Dominque acknowledges that perhaps the best part of this club is simply having the freedom to form it, "In Switzerland, this kind of club would never happen, there is not the same openness to new ideas and willingness to debate and have educated discussions surrounding current events."



Inigo adds, "The goal of this club is not to have a group of people come together and share similar ideas about topics of interest, but rather to provide a forum for varied perspectives and to have people share their thoughts in a respected and thoughtful manner."



Dominique comments, "We were inspired by the idea that there were more people who share our interests. We wanted to form a club in which we could discuss current events from various points of view in a respectful way, but needed some direction, which Phil was able to provide."



When asked how they hope this club evolves during the remainder of the year, both Inigo and Dominque are realistic about its goals, "For the moment we hope to simply attract more people to our meetings and to eventually connect with other schools, business and local colleges who may have similar interests and will be able to help educate our discussions."



This club has already made strides toward that goal by hosting a meeting with over twenty participants two weeks ago to discuss 'green' construction followed by another very well attended meeting this past Friday that saw an informed discussion of the economic payback surrounding 'green' transportation. A number of faculty have been in attendance, sharing their experiences with building and renovating homes as making purchases of other new 'green' technologies as students questioned the cost-effectiveness of 'going green'.



Inigo and Dominque's long-term goal is to complete an economic study of the development of the new dorm and to help with that process while also discussing the Elections of 2012 in relation to current economic issues.



While they may not get to all of these conversations this year, the momentum they have created is exciting. Watching students lead the education of their peers outside of the classroom speaks volumes to the learning that can take place when students drive discussions and we are thankful our students take advantage of those opportunities.