Washington University’s first undergraduate philosophy journal published its first issue last month.

Whether the topic is about the existence of God or the morality of the death penalty, as soon as the topic is introduced, the conversation takes off, devoid of the awkward silences of most Zoom calls.

During a class discussion a few weeks ago about existentialist philosophy, my professor informed our class that in the 1950s, every college student in America was reading the works of Jean-Paul Sartre. His history lesson got me thinking about whether our generation has an equivalent scholar or shared intellectual experience—one that is not a formal course requirement, yet is still an essential part of our liberal arts education.

It seems that I’ve fielded a lot of complaints, as of late, about the lack of engagement among students at Wash. U.