Carnegie Mellon Hosts Event Promoting Empathy and Dialogue
In an era where divisions often seem insurmountable, Carnegie Mellon University took a significant step toward fostering understanding and dialogue. The university hosted an event titled “Listening, Learning and Leading Across Difference”, the grand finale of this year’s Deeper Conversations program. The event, held over two days, aimed to bridge divides and was spearheaded by alumnae Tria Chang and Justine Lee, founders of Make America Dinner Again (MADA).
Day One: Dinner and Dialogue
The event commenced with a dinner in CMU’s Rangos Ballroom on March 29. Students from diverse backgrounds gathered to discuss leadership, peacemaking, and facilitation. Justine Lee emphasized the event’s purpose: “We are not here today to have the most polished responses about current events or to make an argument or win an argument. We’re here really encouraging you to see our time together as an opportunity to really connect with each other.”
During the dinner, students explored questions on societal successes and failures, and issues they were either firm or undecided on. These dialogues, conducted with partners of differing identities or ideologies, aimed to foster deeper understanding.
Day Two: Lecture and Legacy
The following day featured a lecture led by Provost Jim Garrett, where Chang and Lee shared insights with the broader CMU community. Garrett remarked, “This event is an expression of Carnegie Mellon’s renewed focus on skill building, of our intentional commitment to offer experiences in the student journey that support holistic development.”
Chang reflected on the importance of their work: “We felt very motivated to keep going, to build understanding, to build connection in an often lonely and ever more divided world.”
Encouraging Empathy
As the event continued, participants engaged in breakout discussions, practicing “radical empathy” by speaking from their partners’ perspectives. This approach underscored the event’s goal of enhancing human connection.
The program concluded with closing remarks from Richard Scheines, Bess Family Dean of Dietrich College. He expressed hope that such dialogue-driven events become a regular part of the curriculum, stating, “I would hope as educators … that we could lean into this and make this more of a regular part of our curriculum, so the students have the skills and have the conditions so they can learn from conversations.”
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