Stanford University fellowship reviving “civil disagreement,” one meeting at a time

For those on the Left, political conversations often involve one of two things: raging and shouting down their opponents, or passively accepting other viewpoints without asserting their own. The Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Fellowship—active at five colleges, including Stanford University—has diverse student groups discuss “important topics across political difference.” The Stanford Report analyzes one thing the university's doing right when it comes to diplomatically, but passionately, engaging with others' ideas.

“Tell me about the influences that you think most impacted your perspective. Was it your family, your peers, your educators, or perhaps a book?”

Asking questions like these were among the many tactics Stanford senior Liana Keesing learned through her involvement in the Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Partnership (ICDP), a consortium of five colleges and universities, including Stanford, that brings students from a variety of backgrounds together for meaningful dialogue across political differences....

The program emerged during the global pandemic. Collin Anthony Chen, the associate director for undergraduate outreach at the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society, wanted to create a space for students to connect with people across their political differences, especially at a time when polarization, partisanship, and distrust in public institutions was running high....

A unique aspect of ICDP is the diversity the consortium offers. In addition to representation across the political spectrum, students come from a variety of lived experiences: There were adult learners and others with children. Some participants lived in rural areas, others came from urban settings. There were students who served in the military and those active in local civic life.

Despite these different backgrounds, they were united in one thing: They all wanted to have authentic and sincere conversations with one another.

This article originally appeared in the Stanford Report. Read the whole thing here.

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