If you enjoy discussion and are interested in meeting new people of varying backgrounds in a welcoming environment, then consider attending Sustained Dialogue’s Dinner With Strangers Wednesday, Nov. 11 from 5-7 p.m. in Village Dining.
Aly Bolin, residence life graduate assistant, serves as events coordinator and co-adviser for Auburn’s Sustained Dialogue chapter.
The Sustained Dialogue Campus Network is located in 40 campuses in America, according to Bolin.
“[Sustained Dialogue’s] purpose is to facilitate meaningful conversations between college students, so those might be conversations about race, gender or about things happening on campus,” Bolin said. “The idea is to give students a safe space to discuss things that might be a concern to them.”
Bolin said that dialogue groups are small groups of students that meet on a regular basis and follow a dialogue model, and trained facilitators help guide the discussions.
Sustained Dialogue is hosting Dinner With Strangers, a two-hour event in which people will be randomly sorted to tables for discussion, according to Bolin.
There is no application process. People simply need to register online if they want to participate.
“Anyone is welcome to join, so that could be students, staff, faculty or grad students,” Bolin said.
Bolin said that the dialogue for this month’s dinner will focus on the topics Maura Cullen, a diversity speaker, will bring up when she speaks Tuesday, Nov. 10 in the Foy Auditorium.
Deidre Tabb, senior in pharmacy, is a Sustained Dialogue Fellow.
Tabb said that attendance has increased since the first Dinner With Strangers in August.
“I’m excited to see new faces and get to know more people,” Tabb said.
Tabb said that she has learned a lot from attending Sustained Dialogue events.
“It definitely enhances my leadership skills, because it allows me to notice everyone else’s different perspectives, so even when I go out in the real world, I know that everyone has their own view on things,” Tabb said. “I get to know different people, and sometimes those friendships actually continue past Dinner With Strangers.”
Kiara Allen, sophomore in communication, said that she also likes to meet people and hear their perspectives on different topics.
“I think it makes me more open-minded to hear why people say what they say and why they feel the way they feel,” Allen said.
Bolin said that the dialogue groups are ongoing, so new groups will start up at the beginning of next semester. Once the dialogue group schedule is set for next semester, previous participants and interested students will be emailed about signing up. Registration for the next Dinner With Strangers, which will be in January, will not be available until two weeks before the event.
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