DOWAGIAC — Thursday afternoon dozens of students, some groggy from early morning classes and others wide awake, sat inside the dimly lit theater of Southwestern Michigan College.

In front of the students was a table, behind which sat a group of five varied individuals, each of whom had a unique perspective on the gaps in cross-generational communication.

“They have had different experiences with technology than most of you,” said Dr. David Fleming, SMC’s vice president of instruction and host of the event, as he addressed the students in the audience. “Maybe we can all learn something.”

Dowagiac’s One Story program, a collaborative program running until the end of May that involves a series of events relating to the theme of a chosen book, this year’s being Mitch Albom’s “Tuesdays with Morrie” and N.L. Sharp’s “Effie’s Image,” kicked off last month with an event at the Dowagiac History Museum.

For the program’s second event, SMC hosted a panel titled: “Why are the numbers on Grandma’s watch so big? A panel discussion on aging.” The panel featured three members of the SMC faculty, Joanne Strebeck, Jeanie Mitchel and Joe Coti, and two members of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Majel DeMarsh and Donald Sumners.

Though the panel touched on a number of topics, the main focus of the panel was the way that technology has changed how generations communicate with one another.

“I remember sitting where you are now, being your age and thinking someone my age was old,” Strebeck said toward the beginning of the panel to laughter from the audience. “Age is a big part of culture. I think we have a lot to learn from each other.”

Panel members held nuanced views of technology in culture, with every member saying that technology has brought people together by making communication more available, but has entirely changed the culture between generations, which has led to a communication gap between generations. Bridging the communication gap is important, panel members said, because the generations must communicate with one another in life and the workforce.

“Things have changed,” DeMarsh said. “[Millennials] have grown up on technology in a way that I haven’t.”

Though the panel was aimed more toward listening to different perspectives rather than coming up with concrete solutions to problems, panel members seemed to agree that by different generations respecting each other and attempting to understand each other, the communication gap can be bridged.

“We are important to each other,” Mitchel said of different generations. “Respect has to be earned. You shouldn’t respect me just because I’m older or a teacher standing in front of you demanding respect. We all need to earn that respect. … Respect is important to how we communicate.”

The next One Story event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 17 at the Pokagon Band Community Center.

For more information on the One Story program and for a full list of events, visit onestoryread.com.