On the evening of April 18, dozens of students gathered in Warner Hall to attend the first official event presented by newly-minted CIO, The Civil Discourse Initiative, which seeks to promote respectful and productive dialogue among those with opposing views. Their first event, titled “This Is (Not) A Debate: Facing the American Political Future,” was ambitious: putting the respective presidents of University Democrats and College Republicans onstage to hold a conversation about the future of politics in America.
Jack Siegel, president and founder of The Civil Discourse Initiative, opened the event by describing CDI’s threefold mission: to “break barriers, model discourse,” and put student leaders at center stage to engage as many of their fellow Hoos as possible. Jered Cooper, the vice president of CDI and moderator of the event, further asserted that “our aim is not only to gain deeper insights […] but to understand why these issues are so important.”
The student speakers, Lauren Horan of College Republicans and Ella Nelsen of University Democrats, engaged with a number of controversial topics such as abortion, the welfare system, and America’s response to the crisis in Gaza. Cooper also did not shy away from asking intense questions, including why there is a gender gap between America’s political parties and which presidential candidate the speakers plan to vote for come November. However, the discussion remained courteous, with both Horan and Nelsen providing articulate and thought-provoking answers to every topic presented to them.
“Our aim is not only to gain deeper insights […], but to understand why these issues are so important,” said Cooper. “This Is (Not) A Debate” certainly attained this goal with flying colors by exposing the UVA community to examples of productive and respectful disagreement.
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