At Inside Higher Ed, Jessica Blake reports on a GWU debate on the Middle East:
The event was co-sponsored by BridgeUSA, a student-led viewpoint diversity group; Braver Angels, a broader depolarization nonprofit; and the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a right-leaning group that promotes academic freedom. Several other nonpartisan and bipartisan GW student organizations also cosponsored the event. Local chapters of ethnic and religious groups were invited to participate but declined.
Constructive dialogue events and curricula like this have been developed in response to the rising demand for both civic engagement and civility on college campuses across the country. The practice has been growing in popularity since Donald Trump’s polarizing 2016 campaign rocked the nation. But in the wake of fallout from last spring’s campus unrest and with anxieties about next week’s presidential election reaching a boiling point, many colleges have prioritized promoting civil discourse even more this fall.
In the first two weeks of October alone, BridgeUSA has hosted an all-time high of 75 gatherings and reached 1,583 students, according to data from the organization. But even in light of the demand and repeated demonstrations of success, Sophie Holtzman, a co-president of the organization’s GW chapter, was apprehensive that anyone could maintain a peaceful conversation about the conflict in Gaza.
“I honestly pushed back pretty heavily against doing this topic today,” she said at the debate’s conclusion. “As much as I believe in Bridge and in the Braver Angels debate style, I didn’t think GW was really ready to discuss this. But clearly I was wrong. Here we are.”