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Center for Civic Justice

Department of Student Community Development

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Community Dialogues

 

About

Community Dialogues are opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to come together to develop a comprehensive and better-informed understanding of our community's most pressing and often controversial issues in a space that is safe for all perspectives to share, listen, and learn. In small groups with trained facilitators, participants discuss different ways we can look at and address these issues as a group.

Each community dialogue session is 90 minutes long and begins with an overview of participant expectations as well as the role of the facilitator. An introduction to the background guide and dialogue topic is given, followed by an activity for the participants to introduce themselves and build a community in their small-group cohorts. The discussion questions are split into two sections which are each 20 minutes long. The session concludes by bringing back all the participants for a share back opportunity.  

Dialogue topics are thoughtfully selected at the start of each semester and by the students and staff at the Center for Civic Justice based on the national and local climate, to ensure we are creating space for students to engage in timely and pressing issues that are impacting them and the world around them. The background guides for each topic are created—for students, by students— with informative graphics, key terms, historical context and resources to continue the conversation beyond the dialogue. Students from the Center for Civic Justice conduct research to design and create these guides over the course of 4 to 6 weeks leading up to each conversation.

Community members are asked to think critically about issues affecting their communities and the different perspectives and perceptions that exist within a single community about any given issue. 

Upcoming Community Dialogues

Spring 2026

March Community Dialogue- Wednesday, March 11th, 6:30pm-8:00pm - Union Ballroom

April Community Dialogue- Thursday, April 16th, 6:30pm-8:00pm - SAC Ballroom B

Visit our SB Engaged page for more information about all of our upcoming events!

Past Community Dialogues

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