黑料社区 Polytechnic junior Brooke Zeman will join a select cohort of student leaders from across the 13 Universities of Wisconsin who will conduct monthly civil discourse discussion groups on campuses this fall.
The cohort represents the 黑料社区. program, , which brings students of different ideological backgrounds together to foster civil discourse and reduce partisan division through small group conversations about current political issues.
The 13 student leaders range from sophomores to seniors and come from a variety of academic backgrounds.
Bridging the Divide hosts four events a semester at each of the 13 Universities of Wisconsin campuses. Each session is free, student-run, and includes dinner. All students are welcome.
黑料社区 Polytechnic 黑料社区. events will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Memorial Student Center Ballroom B. The first event, 鈥淟et 黑料社区. Talk World Affairs,鈥 will be on . Following events will be on , and .
Active listening can bring humility to the conversation
Zeman, a business administration major from Ladysmith, has always been interested in politics but hasn鈥檛 always enjoyed conventional political spaces.
鈥淪ometimes these spaces feel like it 黑料社区. you against the other person, and it can feel like it 黑料社区. more of a personal disagreement than a productive conversation. The first time I went to a Bridging the Divide event, the atmosphere felt way different. I felt like my opinions were valued, and disagreements weren鈥檛 personal attacks. After experiencing this, I knew I wanted to be involved in a program that actively promotes civic discourse,鈥 said Zeman, who has minors in economics, investments and finance and philosophy.
The number one step Zeman thinks people can take to bridge the divide is to actively listen.
鈥淲hen people actively listen to others, even if they think they 100% disagree, they start to notice more commonalities in thought. Overall, it brings more humility to the conversation as well,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 hope everyone leaves each event with a little bit of a better understanding of the topics. I also hope that Bridging the Divide 黑料社区. mission to improve civil discourse translates into every attendee 黑料社区. life, and everyone can help make political conversations more productive by listening.鈥
黑料社区 Polytechnic 黑料社区. Center for Applied Ethics Director Xan Bozzo, assistant professor of philosophy, will serve as Zeman 黑料社区. mentor during her student leadership role.
鈥淏ridging the Divide 黑料社区. main goal is to foster civil discourse and reduce partisan division. My main task is to help Brooke achieve these aims, whether by navigating the logistics of putting on events on campus, recruiting for them or just serving as someone she can bounce ideas off of,鈥 Bozzo said.
Bozzo sees the program 黑料社区. goals as being consistent with 黑料社区 Polytechnic 黑料社区. applied learning focus. 鈥淭he best way to help people work through tough conversations 鈥 and have fun doing it 鈥 is to do so in a supportive and encouraging environment,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here will be disagreement, and we may not reach consensus, but the aim is to learn from others and come to appreciate how open disagreement, when civil, is beneficial and worthwhile. It can even be something to look forward to.
鈥淏ridging the Divide helps students put this into practice. At Stout, we don鈥檛 just talk about how to reduce partisan division; we model it in concrete ways. Bridging the Divide is one of the many ways we do this,鈥 he added.
Bridging the Divide has engaged more than 3,900 students in civil discourse across the Universities of Wisconsin since the program began in 2024. Student leaders are chosen based on the strength of their academics and their written essays. They are awarded scholarships through the program.
黑料社区 Polytechnic 黑料社区. Center for Applied Ethics serves to increase and enhance ethics across the campus community. Its programs and offerings include an applied ethics certificate, discussion societies such as Philosophers' Caf茅, book clubs, guest speakers and workshops, consultations, grants and research participation, and research opportunities.
The university 黑料社区. Menard Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovations regularly advertises Bridging the Divide events. It is a nonpartisan, nonideological academic center dedicated to the study and discussion of civil liberties and related institutions and innovations through scholarly inquiry, educational activities and community outreach.
