To overcome constrictions on communication at UA, Sustained Dialogue, a program initiated by Crossroads Community Center in 2006, invites students from all corners of campus to participate in weekly discussions comprised of individuals who hail from dissonant backgrounds and vantage points.
Beverly Hawk, director of Crossroads Community Center, said Sustained Dialogue provokes conversation among students who would most likely never cross paths.
“In life, we don’t spend a lot of time with the people we disagree with,” Hawk said. “But in Sustained Dialogue, you’re stuck with each other… You meet people you will not otherwise get to know.”
Hawk said the program also educates its members on conflict resolution since participants experience firsthand the disorder that can arise from conflicting viewpoints.
“I find that people who come out of Sustained Dialogue are very experienced in finding out the reasons for why a person said a thing,” Hawk said. “And we have so many opportunities for misunderstanding on campus.”
Hawk said a selection of the program’s members annually attend the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network Summit Conference at Princeton University, where the program began. There, students from across the nation converge to discuss issues and “facilitate relations-building,” Hawk said.
Hawk said the members of Sustained Dialogue plan to begin their group discussions next week, and if students still wish to apply for a membership in the program, an application can be found near the bottom of the Crossroads Community Center website at crossroads.ua.edu.
Ten discussions are planned for both the fall and spring semesters, she said.
Jamie Woodham, president of Sustained Dialogue and a junior majoring in political science and criminal investigative analysis, said the members divide into three “dialogue groups” of about 15 people each.
Woodham said each group is arranged so that students from diverse political affiliations, religions, races and ethnicities are brought together.
“We try to set up a safe space for people … to talk without feeling judged or penalized for their ideas,” Woodham said. “The dialogue groups are made as diverse as possible … with students from every background and every ideology.”
Each group has a pair of moderators who guide the dialogue and promote thoughtful conversation but refrain from taking control, Woodham said.
Woodham said members of each dialogue group will develop their ideas into a plan of social action by the end of the school year.
He said Sustained Dialogue was developed by an international peacemaker named Harold Saunders who worked for the Carter administration, and as part of the original program, members are expected to climb a ladder of stages that culminates in the fifth stage of taking social action.
Joshua Kirkland, a senior majoring in history, said he has seen the advertisements for Sustained Dialogue but knows little about the program and its efforts.
“I just see a sign [of theirs] and say ‘Oh, alright,’” Kirkland said.
Paul Lawrence, a sophomore with an undecided major, said he also knows little about Sustained Dialogue.
“I don’t really know anything about it,” Lawrence said.
