Dialogue Across Difference Program Updates from Fall 2024

Following their experience at the SNF Ithaca National Student Dialogue in March 2024, Mary Webster Burke C’26 and Jenna Miller C’25 proposed the launch of a Dialogue Wall on Sewanee’s campus. Inspired by Providence College, a Dialogue Wall provides a space (in our instance, a physical chalkboard where students write responses and are able to read the responses of others) for students to engage with topical questions to the ends of promoting civil discourse. Tailed to better fit Sewanee’s campus culture, each weekday, we have Bonner/Canale students trained in foundational dialogue practices sitting with the wall in the duPont library, sparking interest and conversations about people’s responses to each question. Questions (e.g., “I feel ______ about the election.” “How do you deal with final exam stress?”) are changed every two weeks during the semester to encourage engagement on diverse themes. After each prompt for the wall, the site leader for Dialogue Across Difference along with the Dialogue Ambassadors work to report trends and ideas from the wall. This student-initiated project has provided new avenues for dialogue work on campus!

Sewanee was again invited to the National Student Dialogue hosted by the University of Delaware’s Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Ithaca Initiative last October. Mary Webster Burke C’26 and Kenneth Woodford C’26 along with program director Dr. Lydia Reinig joined 70 college students and their mentors from 34 institutions. Together they grappled with challenges to civil discourse on their diverse college campuses, and workshopped possible interventions to encourage democratic practices. Reflecting on his experience, Woodfood shared, “Through our trip to Delaware for the SNF Ithaca National Student Dialogue, I became aware of truly how impactful us students can be on our campus if we have the correct channels to work through. Working alongside students from both similar and different school environments, I was able to gain an understanding of the truly complex challenges that lay before us as students. Hearing from different professors, brainstorming, and attending planning sessions all taught me different lessons about my school, my values, and how I interact with others. It was a privilege to attend the conference and meet so many other student leaders from across the country.”

As part of preparing students to engage in reciprocal conversations and build a culture of dialogue at Sewanee, the Dialogue Across Difference program has historically offered students in the Finding Your Place (FYP) program an opportunity for structured dialogue. Happening just hours after arriving and facilitated by student mentors, new students are asked to reflect on previous experiences of finding belonging and share stories of being incorporated into new communities, all the while encountering others coming from different backgrounds and experiences. FYP Student Co-Coordinator and now DxD Dialogue Ambassador Ben Csaszar C’25 characterizes the value of the dialogue, saying, “The Finding Your Place program throws many first-year students into the deep water by asking them to rapidly settle into a new environment ahead of orientation. While this does give these students more time to explore and connect with Sewanee, I truly believe that the dialogue we have on the day they arrive is instrumental in underlining their success. The dialogue provides not only the opportunity to get to know some of the peers they will spend their next ten days with but also provides them with a safe space to open up about their worries of finding a home away from home. Without the opening dialogue, FYP just would not be the same.”

In the midst of a growing sense that our society is losing capacities and opportunities to have meaningful conversations across divergent perspectives, the Dialogue Across Difference program continues to be called on to lead creative collaborations and workshops across campus. Beginning in summer 2024, Reinig offered three versions of “Navigating Difficult Conversation” workshops, first for Office of Residential Life staff, then for the entire Division of Student Life, and finally for the staff of student proctors. She also engaged Chaplains-in-Residence in a workshop entitled, “The Power of Presence Through Reflective Listening.” Additionally, she was invited into a collaboration with colleagues from across campus, including the ADA Office and Wellness, to design a structured dialogue as part of marking Neurodiversity Day in October. Finally, she collaborated with the Center for Teaching to hold biweekly “Coffee & Conversation,” an open space for faculty to discuss teaching during a contentious election season. Throughout last semester, DxD worked synergistically to support the Democratic Engagement program and the broader campus community during the 2024 election (see the Democratic Engagement article in this issue for more information). 

Meanwhile, the Dinner & Dialogue initiative continues to bring together students and colleagues for a shared meal and a space to engage around what we hold dear. In light of the election season, both events in Fall 2024 sought to provide perspective on fraught political conversations while practicing dialogue together. The first Dinner & Dialogue engaged 41 participants at 8 student facilitated tables in the question, “How does Sewanee’s value of EQB guide our engagement this election season?” After the election, our mid-November Dinner & Dialogue took a more playful approach to practicing “How to Have a Difficult Conversation at the Thanksgiving Table.” Again 41 participants joined us, some even donning festive party favors. Stay tuned to the OCE Newsletter later this spring for a full summary of the themes from these conversations and our spring dialogues.  

As we move into the Easter semester, we look forward to more Dinner & Dialogue events (mark your calendars for Tuesday, February 25th and Monday, April 7th), more collaborations, and more opportunities for dialogue to flourish across campus.