Ohio State hosts Big Table discussions promoting civil discourse

Ohio State hosts Big Table discussions promoting civil discourse

Office of Student Life event brought together students, faculty, community

As part of the Big Table discussions held citywide on Sept. 25, The Ohio State University held several sessions across the Columbus campus promoting civil discourse. Launched in 2016 by the Columbus Foundation, the Big Table is a community conversation held at numerous locations in which participants discuss strategies to bring about a more kind and just future for central Ohio.

Ohio State students, parents, faculty, staff and community members gathered at Curl Hall for a lunchtime discussion coordinated by the Office of Student Life. The discussion centered on the university's Listen.Learn.Discuss.platform.

Listen.Learn.Discuss.is a set of skill-based resources designed to promote respectful listening, discussing different points of view, building trust with one another and navigating complex conversations, on and off the Ohio State campus.

"One of the things that we operate from in the Office of Student Life, specifically, is the desire to understand what the big problems are and then to quickly start to move to solutions," said Melissa Shivers, senior vice president of Student Life. "It does no one any good to stay in the place of despair and frustration. How do we start to move issues forward for the betterment of the community? The Big Table is just one of the many ways that we at Ohio State, and certainly in the city of Columbus, do this incredibly well."

The Big Table enables the Office of Student Life to bring together people from diverse backgrounds to discuss a range of topics that affect their lives, said Tracy Stuck, assistant vice president of Student Life.

"Student Life has been a part of this program since 2017," she said. "The concept is a lot of times, we just don't get around the table and meet people that we don't know and have discussions that we don't talk about all the time."

Aaron Yarmel, associate director of Ohio State's Center for Ethics and Human Values, led the discussion. He offered tools to facilitate civil discourse: have curiosity, be charitable and be constructive.

"We're blessed to have a lot of different positions about all the issues that matter to us," he said. "But what we're also finding, and what I think a lot of us are experiencing, is that ideological diversity itself is never going be sufficient for civil discourse. And that's where we need our tools to be able to actually have conversations across disagreements."

Throughout the session, representatives from various university departments convened in small groups with community members. They engaged in dialogue prompted by questions Yarmel posed such as, "What's the most recent meaningful discussion you had?" and "How is it possible to engage people with different viewpoints in constructive conversations?"

At the end of the session, representatives from each group shared insights and key takeaways.

"I appreciate all of your willingness to go to deeper places, sharing unique stories and experiences in a room full of people," Shivers told participants. "You probably don't know half the people in the room, but you allowed yourself to be present and engaged. It's a gift that all of us were given today, and we are incredibly grateful for what you brought."

More information about Listen. Learn. Discuss., including events and ways for students, faculty and staff to get involved, can be found at the Listen. Learn. Discuss. website.

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