Public health students conduct “campus conversations” to discuss polarizing topics without expecting to reach common ground
How many times has a conversation escalated or been avoided altogether due to differing opinions?
Public health students Lexi Brady, Parker Carlquist, and Seth Dotson are working under the direction of Dr. Jeff Glenn to help students talk about difficult, relevant issues on campus.
A “campus conversation” is an hour-long conversation where participants voluntarily discuss an issue and listen to peer experiences.
Surprisingly, finding common ground is not the goal of campus conversations. Glenn describes their purpose as “creat[ing] a campus environment where people can openly disagree with each other on important issues but still love and respect one another.”
Participant attitudes are assessed before and after the conversation via surveys and interviews. Specifically, Brady, Carlquist, and Dotson are analyzing how these conversations influence people's views on campus issues, help people gain skills to discuss polarizing topics, and impact people’s perception of others.
Each conversation is facilitated by one of nine research assistants working on the project. Topics of discussion include free speech and cancel culture, marriage and relationships, and belonging.
Conversation agreements are set beforehand, encouraging participants to show respect, be curious and authentic, and keep shared experiences confidential.
“It [was] nice to establish beforehand that everyone will be kind and open-minded. I found myself wanting to comment more, but when I'd refrain and just listen, I'd learn more that way,” one participant responds to setting ground rules.
Brady hopes that people can leave these conversations with respect for others, accepting their opinions at face value.
“Just because I don't agree with their perspective doesn't mean I can't agree with the reason they feel that way,” Brady says.
Many participants heard viewpoints they hadn’t previously considered and learned from people with whom they may not often interact.
“I really liked my conversation because we were able to have a lot of people with different experiences and racial identities in our group," a participant mentions. "It was refreshing to hear their point of view and to be able to cross that divide..."
Students reported that they “felt more comfortable having these types of conversations with people who disagreed with them,” and “were more likely to respect people with different views and feel empathy towards other groups” after participating in this project.
Glenn describes many of the participants’ experiences as “overwhelmingly positive,” and one of the facilitators considers participating to be a privilege.
Incorporating these conversations into everyday life could result in considerable changes. Brady believes that if students will confidently express their feelings and accept differing opinions, we could create a greater sense of unity on campus.
One participant expresses a similar sentiment: “I wish that more people would know about this because it is very important and I think it can make a real impact [on] BYU in a way that starts with individuals.”
Anyone can replicate the approach taken during campus conversations to discussions in daily life and may benefit from so doing. In fact, Glenn asserts that the type of environment achieved with campus conversations is “foundational to solving public health and other social challenges we face as a community.”
To learn more about resolving disagreements, specifically in the realm of public health policy, listen to Dr. Jeff Glenn on the Y Health podcast.
To participate in a campus conversation at BYU, sign up here. If you are interested in working on a project like this—as a moderator or otherwise—please contact byucampusconversations@gmail.com.
