The University of Rhode Island’s BridgeUSA chapter, BridgeURI, collaborated with St. George’s School’s Civil Discourse fellowship to foster respectful political dialogue.
The group of a dozen high school students from St. George’s and their teacher, Sarah Mason, discussed questions presented by BridgeURI such as: “Do executive orders give too much power to the president or are they necessary in a time of political gridlock?” and “To what extent should the government address the current illegal immigrant population?”
“It was great,” Mason said. “I think our students were excited to talk, excited to hear other viewpoints and excited to engage in the topics.”
Mason collaborated with a group of other schools to increase civil discourse on campuses.
“We are trying to teach listening skills more than talking,” Mason said. “Approaching conversations with curiosity and trying to build skills where students are able to listen and understand various perspectives.”
Mason read “I Never Thought of It That Way” by Mónica Guzmán, where the national BridgeUSA was mentioned. Through research she found the URI BridgeUSA club, which is the only chapter in the state.
Cortland Hayer, a 12th grader and one of the attendees, founded the Political Progress Club at St. George’s School. He joined the Young Republicans club in his school as a tenth grader and came up with the idea for the Political Progress Club along with the Young Democrats.
“[We] decided the best thing for our campus and the country as a whole is unity,” Hayer said. “And to promote civil discourse and foster an environment of mutual respect for my fellow classmates.”
Hayer plans to form a BridgeUSA chapter within St. George’s School and, once he graduates, to attend the University of Chicago as a double major in economics and history.
“We really enjoyed it here,” Hayer said. “There were a lot of engaged people and we learned a lot.”
Matthew Cayer, fourth-year and president of BridgeURI, facilitated the conversation between URI students and St. George’s students. The national BridgeUSA organization reached out to Cayer to see if BridgeURI would be interested in hosting a discussion. He hopes to continue work with BridgeUSA once he graduates.
“I’ll be living a town over so maybe I’ll be [a BridgeUSA] public outreach person,” Cayer said. “I’ll go down to my local high school in South Kingstown and maybe get some other high schools to collaborate and get involved with this sort of thing.”
Re-establishing BridgeURI has been a challenge, however they have a faculty advisor and senate recognition for next semester, according to Cayer. The organization is still looking for a president and secretary to complete their executive board for the upcoming fall semester.
Students can learn more about BridgeURI through their Instagram page @bridgeuri and by visiting the national BridgeUSA website.
