logo logo
Donate
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Social Justice
    • Racial Justice
    • Climate Justice
    • Disability Justice
    • Economic Justice
    • Health Justice
    • Immigration
    • LGBTQ+
  • Civic News
  • Nonprofit Leadership
    • Board Governance
    • Equity-Centered Management
    • Finances
    • Fundraising
    • Human Resources
    • Organizational Culture
    • Philanthropy
    • Power Dynamics
    • Strategic Planning
    • Technology
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Leading Edge Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Webinars

In Search of A Civil Conversation—An Experiment on the Tufts Campus

Martin Levine
August 5, 2016

Tufts-University
August 3, 2016; The New York Times

A bitter, nasty presidential campaign dominates the headlines. More than the content of platforms and each candidate’s positions, we are seeing a political landscape defined by debate that sees opponents as evil. It reflects a disturbing change in the tenor of our civic conversation—one in which partisans reject the legitimacy of those who do not agree with them and see no common ground upon which to stand.

It seems more and more difficult to have a civil conversation in which we are actually listening to one another. A recent Pew Study found that:

Nearly half of those who intend to vote for Clinton over Trump in November (47%) say they have no close friends who support Trump, while nearly a third of voters who prefer Trump (31%) say they have no close friends who back Clinton. . . . About three-quarters of Trump supporters (76%) say they have recently had a conversation about the election with a fellow Trump supporter, while only about half as many (37%) have discussed the election with someone who favors Clinton. Clinton supporters are similarly one-sided in their political discussions: 72% say recent conversations about the election have been with other Clinton supporters, while just 40% say they have been with Trump backers.

Rather than seeking to learn and find common ground, we reject the rights of those we do not agree with to be at the table. We no longer seem to recognize that we have a shared stake in the outcome. Confrontation and power are seen as preferable to dialogue, understanding, and compromise.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

For universities, too, such characteristics are threatening their basic identity as an environment in which all ideas are welcome, studied, and challenged, and the search for knowledge essential. They have been pressed of late to find ways of reversing the path toward more and more confrontation that has left many of their students feeling hurt and threatened. And perhaps their experience can serve as a cautionary tale inspiring others to build more effective engagement. 

Tufts University has begun an interesting experiment on changing the nature of how partisans engage in the debate on the future of Palestine and Israel. The depths of the divide these two nations face is illustrated in a debate over food that took place last fall on the university’s campus. For supporters of Israel, an Israeli food fest organized by Jewish students was an enjoyable day of humus and falafel. But for members of groups supporting Palestinian rights, it was an event to be vigorously protested as another example of cultural theft and occupation. All of the venom in the debate over BDS was wrapped up in a pita. From one perspective, the protests were described as “… bullying masquerading as social justice.” Others just saw being disruptive as the way to make their position known. Neither side saw common interests or values with those they were battling with. Resolution of the conflict was not the goal—total victory was. Friends of Israel, the sponsoring group for the food festival, made a formal complaint to Tufts administrators claiming that the protests had “. . .victimized students and violated university policy . . . They wanted to meet with S.J.P. [Students for Justice in Palestine] leaders and a mediator.” Itamar Ben-Aharon, president of the club, said, “They can push back on our belief and opinions of Israel, but they actually have to hear us out first.”

Into this toxic environment has come Jeffrey Summit, who leads Tufts’ Hillel Center, and Celene Ibrahim, the University’s Muslim chaplain. Both were increasingly disturbed by the lack of connection between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine advocates, and concerned that those who are not yet in either camp had little opportunity for learning and engagement. They recognized that before they could begin to work on a better conversation, they would need to get both sides into the same room. Their approach was to plan a joint day of study, modeling a different way to engage that featured an Israeli and a Palestinian who spoke of their personal journey from rejection of the “other” to a recognition that their futures were bound together and there was need for a win-win outcome.

The small attendance for this program underscores how difficult this challenge is. The program’s value will be more evident in what comes next. One of the event’s organizers, Nazifa Sarawatld, recognized how critical the human dynamics are. As the New York Times reported, she “… wanted more collaboration, and with Hillel the key player, she worried about a power imbalance. Maybe students at the grass-roots level should be in charge…” 

What the Tufts experience is demonstrating is that creating civil discourse and shared problem solving requires the building of relationships that can only happen slowly. Those who disagree will need to be given time and space to discover that there are commonalities as well as differences with their foes.  Hard work under the best of circumstances, but much more difficult when national leaders model how a different culture can be established at the more local level.—Marty Levine

About the author
Martin Levine

Martin Levine is a Principal at Levine Partners LLP, a consulting group focusing on organizational change and improvement, realigning service systems to allow them to be more responsive and effective. Before that, he served as the CEO of JCC Chicago, where he was responsible for the development of new facilities in response to the changing demography of the Metropolitan Jewish Community. In addition to his JCC responsibilities, Mr. Levine served as a consultant on organizational change and improvement to school districts and community organizations. Mr. Levine has published several articles on change and has presented at numerous conferences on this subject. A native of New York City, Mr. Levine is a graduate of City College of New York (BS in Biology) and Columbia University (MSW). He has trained with the Future Search and the Deming Institute.

More about: Higher EducationNonprofit NewsSocial Movements

Our Voices Are Our Power.

Journalism, nonprofits, and multiracial democracy are under attack. At NPQ, we fight back by sharing stories and essential insights from nonprofit leaders and workers—and we pay every contributor.

Can you help us protect nonprofit voices?

Your support keeps truth alive when it matters most.
Every single dollar makes a difference.

Donate now
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

You might also like
What Does Gaza Solidarity Protest Look Like on Campuses Today?
Akin Olla
On the Front Lines: How Campus Organizing Can Inform Movements Today
Aashna Miharia
Seeking the Willing: A Friendship Across Political Lines
Venu Gupta
What Happens When Your NSF Grant Is Canceled?
Nicole Walker
Being Anchored: The Challenge of Cultural Change
Rita A. Hodges
Madeleine L’Engle’s Books Were Never Meant to Be “Safe”
Charlotte Jones Voiklis

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
July 24th, 2:00 pm ET

Organizing in Divided Times

The Relational Infrastructure We Need to Protect Democracy

Register
Group Created with Sketch.
September 24th-25th, 2:00 pm ET

Advanced QuickBooks for Nonprofits

Expert Guidance for Experienced QuickBooks Users

Register

    
You might also like
Gaza solidarity encampment at Columbia on lawn in front of Butler Library. Palestinian flags in front, crowd near building.
What Does Gaza Solidarity Protest Look Like on Campuses...
Akin Olla
Students attend Palestinian solidarity protest on the steps of Sproul Hall at the University of California, Berkeley.
On the Front Lines: How Campus Organizing Can Inform...
Aashna Miharia
An illustration with a cloudy blue background. Left side features rings of people in layered interlocking circles.
Seeking the Willing: A Friendship Across Political Lines
Venu Gupta

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Donate
  • Editorial Policy
  • Funders
  • Submissions

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.