Life Together: Seeking the Common Good in a Diverse Democracy
Life Together: Seeking the Common Good in a Diverse Democracy is a new initiative that aims to enhance civic engagement and civil dialogue at Syracuse University during the 2024-25 academic year. The initiative will focus on developing essential skills such as active listening, communication across differences, critical thinking, and advancing mutual understanding.
In collaboration with various campus partners, the initiative will host workshops, speaker events, and training sessions to foster informed civic participation, particularly leading up to the presidential election in November. Participating campus partners include:
- Center for Experiential Pedagogy and Practice
- Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence
- Engaged Humanities Network
- First Year Seminar
- Hendrick’s Chapel
- Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship
- Office of Diversity and Inclusion
- Orange Television Network
- Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration
- Syracuse Civic Initiative, College of Law
As part of this initiative, the inaugural event, “Life Together: A Community Conversation for Election Season and Beyond” will bring together campus community members representing diverse backgrounds and perspectives to engage in facilitated dialogue on important issues related to democracy, civic engagement and the political climate.
The event, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 22 from 6-8:30 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium in the Schine Student Center, will feature a moderated discussion among experts, followed by small group conversations led by trained facilitators. This approach seeks to help inform students about important election issues, encourage civic engagement, and build confidence in civil dialogue. Please note, doors will open at 5:45 p.m. and a light dinner will be served. Please note any dietary restrictions when registering.
If you’re a student interested in attending and participating, please register by visiting https://syracuse.campuslabs.com/engage/event/10520511. Learn more about the Oct. 22 event here.
To support these small dialogue groups, the Life Together Steering Committee is seeking facilitators. Facilitators may include faculty, staff and graduate students. To learn more about how to register to be a facilitator, please click here. You can also register via this Qualtrics Survey.
Join us in our journey to cultivate a vibrant, engaged campus committed to the common good!
* Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART) captioning and American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be available. Email adsnow@syr.edu regarding accommodations.