A student speaker will present TEDxACU’s first “direct-to-camera” talk in video format March 24 in Fulks Theatre.

Dr. Lauren Lemley, director of TEDxACU, said a student was invited speak in this format because the talk will be appropriate to be filmed on-site, rather than presented live. The name of the student speaker will be announced closer to the event, but seven of the 12 speakers have been announced already along with the theme: “Next.”

Lemley said the TEDxACU leadership selected another student, Madeline Dayton, to present live. Dayton, sophomore global studies major from Katy, will present on the topic of feminism in a talk titled, “What Do Millennial Feminists Owe Their Great-Grandmothers?”

“I’ve always loved speaking, but I’ve never really done something in the realm of a TED talk ,” Dayton said. “I never thought it would happen at this age. I was very surprised.”

Dayton developed her topic after taking a global studies class with Dr. Kelly Elliott, assistant professor of global studies. She began researching feminism through history and will discuss the connection of feminism to urbanization.

“As people began to move to cities, men and women started to have more defined roles,” Dayton said. “My parents have very different beliefs about gender roles so, growing up, I didn’t know what’s right or who I’m supposed to grow up to be.”

TEDxACU is connected to TED, a global nonprofit which allows people to share ideas in short presentations at TED events. Since Fulk’s Theatre holds a smaller audience, only a small crowd attends the event live, but Lemley said the videos of last year’s talks have a total of more than 160,000 views.

“It’s exciting to see them continue to grow,” Lemley said. “The point of TED is spreading knowledge.”

Students have two options for attending the event, which allows students with varying class schedules on Friday to get the ticket that works best for them, Lemley said.

The student fellowship allows students with multiple classes on Friday to get an excused absence and a discounted ticket. Students must apply for the fellowship and write a short reflection after the event. If a student has one or less classes on Friday, they can purchase a student ticket for $20.

“Everyone is so opinionated on social media, when you type something and you don’t have to look someone in the eyes,” Lemley said. “The mediated channels make it so easy to shut ourselves off to differing opinions. There’s still huge value in society to listen to people’s ideas, look people in the eye and share ideas.”

One speaker, Jackie Beth Shilcutt, adjunct professor of dance, will combine speech, choreography and dance performance in her talk. TEDxACU will also include artistic performances by students, including dance, music and poetry. Auditions will take place in February.

Other speakers TEDxACU has announced include:

• John Trischitti, director of Midland County Public Libraries -“Literacy is the Answer.”

• Dr. Amber Straughn, astrophysicist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center -“Infant galaxies to alien atmospheres: NASA’s next huge telescope.”

• Dr. Brandon W. Jones, assistant director of the Academic Success Center at Clemson University -“The Magnifying Glass: Black football players on college campuses.”
• Dr. Cara Jacocks, communication professor at Southern Methodist University -“Socially constructing down syndrome: Confessions of a rockin’ mom.”
• Jarrod Brown, president of Mission Lazarus – “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

For information and a complete list of speakers click here.