ALLENDALE, Mich. — Grand Valley State University students, faculty and community members gathered Thursday for the school's 11th annual "Civil Discourse Symposium." Every year the school hosts the event, focused on fostering respectful dialogue in the wake of current events that may cause division, especially following al election season the center described as "filled with turmoil and anxiety."
The event, hosted by the school's Padnos/Saroskik Center for Civil Discourse, is also a part of GVSU's "Talking Together" initiative. The theme of this year's symposium was Gen Z Voices: If We Were President.
The evening featured a panel of three students representing different political viewpoints who discussed the values shaping their beliefs. The goal was to elevate the voices, perspectives, values and commitments of today's students as the members of Gen-Z move into adulthood and post-grad life.
Following the panel, attendees were given the opportunity to break into small groups for guided discussions.
"My biggest hope is that people feel inspired to listen to each other's stories, to understand why they think what they think, so that when we leave here, we remember everyone has a story, and we stop characterizing everyone with stereotypes," said Lisa Perhamus, director of the Center for Civil Discourse.
The symposium provided what many students described as a safe environment for expressing diverse opinions. Marshall Murdick, a sophomore at GVSU, said he appreciated the opportunity for open dialogue.
"I think that's kind of the point of being at a civil discourse," Murdick said. "Having that environment that's safe for people to express those different opinions, and being able to have a calm conversation about it, even if, at the end of the day, we felt different ways about how things went."
The "Talking Together" initiative aims to establish a culture of constructive conversation both on campus and in surrounding communities.