Voices United – Join the Conversation on Monday

These days, it can be hard to have meaningful conversations about challenging topics with people we disagree with. Next week marks BC’s first ever Voices United – A Week of Campus-Wide and Civic Conversation.

More Information:

What: Voices United – A Week of Campus-Wide and Civic Conversation
When: May 22-26
Where: In-Person and Virtual
Learn more.

Join us for these free events, open to all students, faculty, staff, and community. No registration needed. Most are both in-person and online. Below are Monday’s events:

A Call for Civic Bridgebuilding, with Representative Derek Kilmer
When: Monday, May 22, 10:30am-11:20am
Where: D106 & Zoom
Help kick off the week by joining a conversation about the what and why of civic bridgebuilding. This informal discussion will follow remarks from Representative Derek Kilmer, one of the lead sponsors of the 2022 Building Civic Bridges Act in Congress. As we discuss the importance and challenges of building relationships across difference, we will set the tone for the week, and for what we seek in our campus community.

Using Technology to Transcend Conversational Barriers, with Jeremiah Allen (First–Year Seminar) – Faculty Only
When: Monday, May 22, 11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.
Where: D106 & Zoom
In this interactive presentation, learn how to incorporate easy to use apps to create safer environments that scaffold difficult conversations into your classroom. Jeremiah will share a lesson he used in his First-Year Seminar and demo the apps the students use in class, and then you will have an opportunity to try them out yourself in a mock lesson. Bring your laptops, phones, or other devices and dive in!

The Devastating Power of Misinformation
When: Monday, May 22, 12:30 p.m.-1:20 p.m.
Where: D106 & Zoom
Come talk about the power misinformation has to influence what we believe, how we act, and how we engage (meaningfully and destructively) with others. Through this conversation, participants will share ideas for addressing this important issue, and learn about some resources available to them to counteract misinformation in their classes.

Social Truth Query: Dialogue as a Tool to Address Misinformation
When: Monday, May 22, 1:30 p.m.-2:20 p.m.
Where: B204 & Zoom
Through engaging with work done in South Africa to combat election misinformation, researchers Dr. Madeline Jalbert and Morgan Wack with the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public (CIP) have designed and tested a new tool, Social Truth Query, that use questions and dialogue to address and reduce the impact of misinformation. During this workshop, they will present their work, explain how to use the tool, and provide opportunities to practice using it.

Student Conversations – Students Only
When: Monday, May 22, 2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Where: T119
Join one (or more) of three student-focused conversations about how to make campus a safe, welcoming, and judgment-free environment for Bellevue College students to discuss campus, state, and even international issues that are important to them. These are nonpartisan, open-to-different-perspectives conversations about how we have conversations at BC and across our communities.

Contact rise@bellevuecollege.edu with any questions.

Last Updated May 19, 2023