Lyon College students gathered Thursday evening, Dec. 4, in Walker Room, lower floor of Edwards Commons, for a focused workshop aimed at improving how people talk about politics across differences. Hosted by the Lyon College Political Science Club and co-sponsored by the Young Progressives and Turning Point USA, the event brought Braver Angels, a national organization dedicated to reducing political polarization, to campus for hands-on training in civil discourse.

Braver Angels describes its mission as follows, “We inspire and equip Americans to practice courageous citizenship across political differences through skill-building, convening and collaborative action.” Rather than advertising the workshop broadly to the public or campus at large, organizers intentionally partnered with student groups across the ideological spectrum to ensure a roughly equal number of progressive and conservative participants. The goal was not debate, but practice. Attendees learned concrete skills for listening, responding, and engaging without letting conversations spiral into hostility.

Dr. Scott Roulier, John Trimble Sr. Professor of Political Philosophy and advisor to the Political Science Club, said the idea for the workshop grew out of both long-standing interest and recent campus context, “I personally participated in a Braver Angels “depolarizing within” workshop, which I found to be practical and insightful. One key to fostering civil conversations is to help people to be more aware of how they respond to political messaging, potentially short-circuiting emotionally-charged rejoinders that derail constructive dialog.”

The timing of the event was also intentional. Roulier explained that tragic events earlier in the fall semester, including the Charlie Kirk assassination, intensified political tensions nationwide and locally. In that environment, organizers wanted to offer students tools to better navigate difficult conversations and civic engagement. As Roulier emphasized, “We are serious about making room for diverse perspectives but also committed to ensuring that ideas are exchanged in a civil manner.”

The 90-minute workshop followed the Braver Angels model, which pairs facilitators from different ideological backgrounds. Each session is led by one conservative and one liberal facilitator, modeling balance and fairness while guiding participants through structured exercises. Students practiced listening techniques, reframing statements, and responding in ways that acknowledged opposing views without surrendering their own convictions.

Madeline Hopson, a Lyon College student and one of the event’s organizers, said the experience highlighted how essential these skills are for students. “The benefits of an event such as the one we had are incredibly useful. Learning how to have the tough political conversations productively is a wonderful and, I would argue necessary, skill to have. Sometimes, people learn a lot about themselves and their own beliefs when they truly hear and understand a perspective that is different from their own. Genuine acknowledgment and understanding is the way to approach high-tension conversations, and the Braver Angels event, along with other depolarization events, teaches people how to communicate with people that may disagree with them. My mom used to scold me as a child and say, ‘Madi, it’s not what you said, it’s how you said it.’ I think that’s incredibly relevant within the political landscape.”

Hopson also expressed satisfaction with the turnout and the diversity of viewpoints represented. “I think the event went well. We had several students from varying political backgrounds able to practice techniques for communicating their views and concerns. I was especially happy that all of the executive members of the club I co-founded were in attendance so that we could learn and replicate these tactics when debating or discussing our views in the future.”

While the workshop was designed as a pilot event, organizers see potential for similar programs in the future. Roulier noted that successful sessions depend on participants who are genuinely invested and on maintaining ideological balance, both of which require careful planning. Still, the Dec. 4 event demonstrated that when students commit to listening as well as speaking, campuses can become spaces where disagreement leads to understanding rather than division.