By Taylor Panneck and Chloe Zientek, ICAD Student Affiliates
An Experience to Take Back
The SNF Ithaca National Student Dialogue at the Biden School of Public Policy & Administration, University of Delaware has been held for several years, and this year we had the opportunity to attend as student representatives for the Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue at James Madison University. Fifty students representing twenty-five different universities from around the country meant fifty voices all contributing to the dialogue around one key question: how can we create environments on college campuses that encourage inclusivity and promote the exercise of free speech? With the core understanding that differing viewpoints should be both voiced and respected through civil discourse, we dove into the topic. We had the opportunity to grapple with this question and come up with action plans through: determining stakeholders, participating in facilitated workshops, networking with other students to understand how schools across the country have provided (or failed to provide) free speech outlets, listened to panelists, and much more! Both of us took away different perspectives and thoughts from the event that we are excited to implement on the James Madison University campus.
The Need for Civil Discourse
The SNF Ithaca National Conference set an excellent example for other universities to follow when beginning the unique and unnavigated challenge of facilitating positive and respectful civil discourse on a college campus. As highlighted throughout the conference, civil discourse is imperative as it allows us to open our minds to different perspectives and ideas we may never have been exposed to or considered before. We must engage with our peers and have conversations that challenge our own assertions and beliefs; otherwise, our perspectives will never grow. As the speakers at the conference highlighted, civil discourse is a necessary step as it allows us to break the echo chambers that reinforce our limited views. If we can respectfully dialogue and debate with others, we can successfully make positive changes in our communities as we come together to make change for the better. Discourse can only be effective if we respect each other’s beliefs and values rather than creating imaginary sides that villainize people with different values and ideas.
Multiple Voices, Various Perspectives
In addition to realizing the importance of civil discourse, one especially impactful aspect was hearing from other students about what they are doing on their campuses and what steps they have taken to implement the programs/events. While some students felt that there were outlets on campus to express their freedom of speech, others felt that major barriers were standing in their way because of either administration or outside interventions. Through facilitated dialogue workshops, we were able to determine the root of the issue, and work through different steps needed before fully implementing an action plan. Everyone had various perspectives and ideas, which helped to narrow down what would be both productive and feasible to implement specifically on our campus.
The Final Step: Action Plan and Implementation
To ensure that civil discourse can thrive on our own campus, we want to incorporate some strategies for facilitating civil discourse that were suggested by key speakers at the Ithaca conference. As conference participants, we have a responsibility to our fellow students, professors, and faculty to share what we have learned so that everyone can have the opportunity to engage in respectful discourse with others. One possible course of action involves introducing a new program at JMU where several speakers with differing views on the same issue can engage in a short facilitated dialogue. This would allow participants to hear multiple perspectives in an environment where no view is villainized, but the conversation surfaces respectful disagreement. After the dialogue has concluded, participants will break out into small discussion groups led by impartial student facilitators, where they can then discuss their thoughts and opinions on the dialogue. Implementing a program like this at JMU would be an excellent opportunity for students to watch civil discourse in real time and actively participate. The implementation of this action plan would be a step toward creating a campus where students believe both free speech and inclusivity are encouraged and fostered.