New initiative promotes bipartisan dialogue on campus
The first Common Ground Campus event was held at the University of Georgia (UGA), where students with differing political beliefs learned about each others’ perspectives.
'My time at Campus Reform showed me that events like these are desperately needed on America's college campuses,' former Editor in Chief Celine Ryan Ciccio said.
Celine Ryan Ciccio, former Campus Reform editor in chief and current Human Events managing editor, recently reported on a new way to promote discourse between college students on opposite sides of the political spectrum.
Common Ground Campus Initiative, sponsored by Human Events, is now launching a website and accepting campus nominations in a “non-partisan effort” to promote discourse that identifies agreement between college students, rather than the typical partisan argument.
Ciccio started as a Campus Reform correspondent in 2017 prior to assuming reporting and editing roles at this publication, where she worked until May 2022.
“My time at Campus Reform showed me that events like these are desperately needed on America’s college campuses,” Ciccio said.
”So often, students are taught to shut down those with whom they disagree. But civil, productive dialogue about society’s most contested issues is precisely the type of thing that is supposed to be happening at universities,” she added.
In a time where tension and division between political parties are at a high, Human Events publisher Jeff Webb believes Common Ground Campus events will help bring people together, despite their political differences.
“I always found that we made the most progress when people were given a chance to be heard and were working toward a common goal,” he told Human Events. “Common Ground Campus can help create those common goals.”
The first Common Ground Campus event was held at the University of Georgia (UGA), where students with differing political beliefs, including members of both Turning Point USA and Democracy Matters, were able to engage in a professional political discussion and learn about each others’ perspectives.
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As reported by Human Events, both Turning Point USA and Democracy Matters participants at UGA agreed that the event was a beneficial discussion about various political issues and could help unite individuals from different political backgrounds.
Common Ground Campus intends to put on additional events like the one at UGA for students across the nation in the fall.
Students can nominate their schools at commongroundcampus.com.
”I am very excited to hear the conversations that take place at upcoming Common Ground Campus events,” Ciccio said.
