The linguistic origin of the word "communitas" reflects the idea of a community of thinkers coming together to discuss cultural issues. As an event, each person in the room plays a role in learning, discussing, and reflecting on such phenomena. Within a communitas-centered conference, the speakers (students) share what their exposure to their studies/projects taught them and why audience members should be exposed to such information. 

Similar to Academic Conferences, Communitas allows students to act as panelists, presenting and discussing their work, ideas, and questions. A panel session is composed of 3-8 students, a moderator, and an audience. Panels can consist of students discussing the same class topic/projects or of students from various classes and projects which handle similar themes.

In conjunction with the Science Symposium highlighting students’ individual research and poster presentation, and the various activities facilitated by Arts & Sciences taking place throughout the month of April, Communitas offers students the opportunity to discuss their research projects and interests and critically engage with said topics further with a wider audience. 

Communitas offers Columbia College students multiple ways in which they can present and dialogue about their work. For example, the following methods can be facilitated within a Communitas panel session:

1. Panel presentations: each panelist has 6-8 minutes to present their work followed by a moderator facilitated Q&A.

2. Roundtable discussions: each panelist is provided discussion questions about their work and its significance with a moderator facilitating a discussion between the panelists and audience.