Monday night, just over a dozen Saint Mary’s students participated in a two hour political dialogue training seminar, hosted by the Center of Faith, Action and Ministry (CFAM) and spearheaded by Sarah Nietz, Saint Mary’s assistant director for justice and solidarity, junior Amelia Moroney and senior Jeanett Ochoa.
Moroney said the purpose of the event was “to encourage the education of political dialogue within the Saint Mary’s and surrounding South Bend community.”
The team led the group through a series of activities and discussions on how to facilitate political conversations on campus and in the surrounding communities.
Nietz introduced the concept of creating a container, a method of organizing a discussion. She said this method is used during “Discussion & Donuts,” a time in which facilitators open discussions regarding hard-hitting social and political topics.
Ochoa stressed the need to welcome everyone into these political “containers.”
“Everyone has varying degrees of information, and to allocate time for understanding ... reinforces the welcoming structure of the container,” she said.
The training also covered the roles of facilitators, full spectrum listening, good question-asking and addressing difficult discussions.
Organizers stressed the importance of identifying others’ values and emotions, through active listening. The group also worked on the skills of identifying both implicit and explicit values, as well as emotions and opinions that could arise within discussion circles.
When the activities concluded, Nietz encouraged the group to put these practices into use.
“There will always be risks when facilitating these types of discussion across any community, not just our own,” she said. “People oftentimes have an instinctual need to defend their opinions and beliefs due to the labels of politics and categories in society, but with this container structure we create spaces of allowance for perspective characterized by respect and mutual learning.”
Senior Molly Minick shared why she chose to come to the training.
“I am the president of the political science club and also a BAVO student advisory committee member. So I just feel like this year, I’m going to be involved or exposed to hard conversations,” she said. “I want to be able to facilitate those in a productive manner.”
Minick also expresed her appreciation for the skills she learned during the session.
“I thought that it was really insightful and I think it was very helpful,” she said. “I feel like I have a much better understanding of how to approach difficult situations.”
Everyone who attended the training is now qualified to lead at future “Discussions and Donuts“ events, being held on Oct. 14 and Nov. 18, focusing on climate change and the election respectively.
