This week marks the return to campus for undergraduate students, faculty, and staff across the nation. While those returning to campus will no doubt be pre-occupied with dusting off old furniture, signing up for classes, and finalizing syllabi, they should also take a moment to pause and reflect on what campus life means: an opportunity to explore of what it means to live and learn together, grow in their identities, and foster a shared sense of belonging in their unique campus environments.
Hundreds of students and educators returning to campus in the coming days met earlier this month at the Interfaith Leadership Summit, where they shared a commitment to engaging across religious and ideological difference.
As Summit attendees wrapped up a weekend focused on respecting one another’s diverse identities, building relationships across lines of difference, and cooperating for the common good, they shared with IA Magazine how they plan to take what they learned about pluralism back into their relationships, academic pursuits and community life on campus.
Here are some practical takeaways for engaging across lines of difference from five students and educators who attended the Summit:
Saige Beatman
Senior, University of Richmond
“There’s a difference between a safe space and a brave space … I never really heard that terminology before, and I thought that was really interesting. This mindset helped me understand how to be the best communicator, how to effectively listen, and how to have conversations—not just for interfaith work—but all around campus.”
Damita Davis
Chief Diversity Officer, SUNY Brockport
“One thing I’ve been thinking about is the intentionality that needs to go into the work of fostering an inclusive campus for interfaith dialogue and interfaith engagement…there has to be really detailed thought in terms of purpose, goals and outcomes.”
Joel O’Mayne Thompson
Junior, Livingstone College
“If you cannot build bridges amongst your friends or your close relationships, you cannot build bridges in a training room or on campus.”
Jacob Smith
MBA Candidate, University of Minnesota & Adjunct Faculty, Dunwoody College
“It’s important that we learn how to disagree with people without being disagreeable. That’s a vital skill.”
Gideon Israel
Junior, Muhlenberg College
“Interfaith work is definitely not as intimidating as it sounds. You don’t have to start with anything really big or complicated that you don’t feel ready for. Everyone who’s doing this work is here because they’re open-minded and they want to meet new kinds of people. It’s not scary at all. And if you’re interested, you should just jump right into it, because it could really change your life.”
