HAILEY HOWELL / FEATURE EDITOR

A new initiative on campus began this semester as part of the Toreros Together for the Common Good Program in hopes of creating a space for open dialogue before and after the election season. USD’s Civil Discourse initiative has hosted events and invited speakers to campus to encourage understanding of different viewpoints, especially with the current political polarization in the  U.S.  surrounding the  election. The initiative is overseen by Byron Howlett, USD’s Assistant Vice President for Student Life, Nicole Whitner, USD’s Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students and Christopher Burden, USD’s Assistant Vice President for Student Wellness. 

A group of students have also taken on the role of Civil Discourse Ambassadors. Their responsibilities include planning and running events that allow open dialogue and increase student engagement. USD junior Grace Anderson shared about her experience as a student ambassador and how she hopes the group makes an impact on the USD community.

“As Civil Discourse ambassadors, we have been meeting and planning since July via  Zoom  and   then  in  person once the  semester started, working on functional events to encourage voter turnout, civil participation and overall education   on  what  Civil Discourse is and why it’s important to our community,” Anderson said. 

The main goals of student ambassadors is to assist in creating a platform where students  are  free  to  express  their ideas and beliefs respectfully.

“We hope to set a tone on campus pre and post election of peaceful  and open dialogue about the political turmoil happening daily in America and represent USD as a space where, whatever you believe, your voice is heard and respected,” Anderson said. “We cannot create positive change without having open dialogue and creating a space on campus where students can see people coming together for the greater good of civil participation is important to our general campus community.”

The students and faculty involved in the initiative have held events such as Civil-A-Tea, an interactive workshop that was hosted in collaboration with the Torero Program Board, and Dare to Dialogue. Faculty speakers such as Hugh Burkhart and Dr. Jonathan Bowman, as well as guest speaker Dr. Shirley N. Weber, California’s Secretary of State, have been invited by the initiative to discuss important issues and try to bridge political divides. 

Another Civil Discourse Ambassador, USD sophomore Bekah Sugano, shared about her favorite event that the initiative has hosted.

“My favorite event was the fireside chat we hosted with Dr. Shirley Weber, the Secretary of State in California,” Sugano said. “She is incredibly supportive of civil discourse and has been instrumental in the political community in initiating this. Dr. Weber had so many amazing messages and pieces of advice for students wanting to engage with civil discourse. She largely emphasized the importance of engaging with people from different sides of the political spectrum from you through humanizing them and getting to know them on a deeply personal level.”

Sugano also highlighted another event centered around media education. 

“I also really enjoyed our Civility Cafe about media literacy,” Sugano said. “It gave many students the tools and education needed to address misinformation, disinformation and [maliformation]. Dr. Burkhart helped us discuss how the lack of media literacy contributes to unproductive political conversation and the need for proper media education in order to have respectful political conversations.”

With tension around the upcoming election, Sugano also explained why it’s important for students to initiate these discussions and be open to hearing different opinions.

“Civil Discourse is incredibly important for college students as we are a large part of the political community that holds a great deal of influence amongst our generation,” Sugano said. “We have the ability to drive the attitudes around political discourse and dialogue. If we are able to create healthy civil discourse, it will make waves in creating peace in our political community. It is especially important for this upcoming election as we are all aware of the existing tension between political parties and the need for bridging the gap. It is many of our first times voting and entering into political society and the more educated we are on the ways to go about it the more impact we can have!”

Sugano shared that through hosting events with this initiative, their goal is to encourage more conversations centered around current issues.

“We are hoping to see an increase in political conversations on campus that are respectful and productive,” Sugano said. “We want to bridge the gaps between political parties and establish the ability for students to disagree and have differing opinions in discussions. We are also hoping to see an increase in political engagement in general and provide students with the confidence to do so. We want students to have the resources needed to distinguish their political values, vote, and talk with others about their ideologies respectfully.”

Through this initiative, USD students have more spaces to listen and hold important discussions. The next event is going to be held on Nov. 13, where faculty speaker Dr. Philip Gamaghelyan will discuss “Conflict Styles and Resolution.” Even  though it’s  too late to vote in this presidential election, continuing to discuss current issues and hear  other perspectives is a great way to stay engaged civically.  

USD students engaging in a civil discourse tabling event. Photo courtesy of Karly Shanahan