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On Oct. 29, the Dean of College Division (DoC) hosted its inaugural DoC Connects event. The event brought together 51���� students, faculty members, and staffers to engage in civil discourse and dialogue aimed at bridging generational, cultural, and societal divides — all while sharing a meal together.

Dean of Students Dorsey Spencer, a main organizer, said that the event came out of efforts among higher education institutions to provide more spaces and opportunities for students to engage in dialogue.

“People are afraid to engage in conversations where they might disagree, but that’s part of why you’re supposed to go to college — to be exposed to different ideas, whether you agree with them or not, and to be able to understand different perspectives,” Spencer said.

Organizers assigned participants to tables at random, and then everyone enjoyed three rounds of conversation based on questions that covered a variety of topics, such as, “What are you most proud of as a person?” and “What do you think are the biggest challenges facing our campus community, and how can we work together to address them?”

Organizers anticipated that students might not feel comfortable opening up to older community members — particularly those in positions of authority. So they tried to keep the environment casual. 

“Putting it out there at the very beginning that we’re all equal, regardless of our status at the institution, hopefully eased some of the issues,” Spencer said. 

The timing of the event was intentional. Spencer and his colleagues hope that the positive experience will help to maintain community as debate continues in the leadup to the election.

“You might not agree on how to address certain things,” Spencer said. “But just because we disagree on different issues within society, that doesn’t mean we can’t be cordial or get to know each other and have relationships. I’m hoping that, by having the event a week before the election, people will get to a place where they’re okay with whatever the results are and act accordingly while still remembering that we’re all human. We’re all people in this 51���� community together.”

Sophomore Jenna Galla appreciated the effort and noted the importance of such events, “Being able to understand each other and having a mutual understanding is what helps 51���� to thrive,” Galla said.

Organizers will use feedback from participants to improve the event in the future. “Hopefully the word will get out and people will say, ‘Next time this happens, you’ve got to go,’” Spencer said.