EMU community members gathered in the Student Union last Wednesday morning to find shared experience and understanding in spite of differences in political affiliation through facilitated discussion in a convocation titled “Finding Common Ground at Common Grounds.”
Senior Jason Dwyer, a leader of College Republicans and one of the leaders for this event, “truly [values] these discussions on campus.”
“I think having these conversations allows members of all different ideologies and political affiliations to gather in a respectful setting and understand differing perspectives as well as see a more personal and human side of politics,” he shares.
In an attempt to create this respectful space, each group, composed of students who self-identified as Democrat, Moderate, or Republican, preceded discussion by completing the phrase: “While we share today, I hope we as a group can…” Responses included “listen to understand,” “learn something new from someone,” and “build a sense of community through our shared curiosity.”
Junior Hollyn Miller, who attended the event as a Democrat, “had a very positive experience with this event” overall. She noted the takeaways she had following the discussion, sharing “this event reinforced the idea that things are never black and white. Even though someone might identify with one party or another, that doesn’t mean that they have to endorse everything that that party stands for.”
During the event, rather than asking for opinions on specific political topics, discussion leaders asked open-ended questions and prompts, such as to what extent politics were discussed growing up, a view each participant’s party holds that they don’t necessarily agree with, and a topic each attendee cares a lot about.
Sophomore La-Ann Volel, who identifies as Moderate but chose to lead discussion as a Republican, saw value in asking these broader questions. “It wasn’t supposed to be a debate,” she stressed. “It was supposed to be, ‘how do you think? How does this impact you? Help me see why this is important for you’ more than ‘you’re wrong’ or ‘I can’t believe you stand for something like that,’ which is really important.” Junior and Democrat discussion leader Genesis Figueroa highlighted the importance of holding events like “Finding Common Ground at Common Grounds,” specifically to provide a space where students can share their differences in belief and find commonalities. “Events like these are very important, especially during the time of an election with such polarizing sides,” she shares. “I think events like these help facilitate conversations that lead students to understand that even though we identify with different political parties, a lot of the time we agree on more than what we think we do.”
