Past Dialogue Programming
Fall 2025
In the fall of 2025, the Dialogues Across Differences (DxD) program facilitated a series of dialogues centered around democracy and how to work individually and collectively to create a democracy that works for everyone. Additionally, DxD lead dialogues that considers culture and identity. Find more information below.
De-Confusifying the Discourse Around Disability in OzNovember 10th, 2025This dialogue aims to guide meaningful discourse and an insightful exchange of ideas and perspectives between participants about disability and otherness through the movie Wicked. Participants will then get the chance to discuss how themes of disability and otherness impact the storyline and reflect on the societal impacts in the real world. |
Culture and CostumesOctober 15th, 2025Culture and Costumes promotes necessary dialogue around the cultural, social, and ethical issues of costume practices, particularly during Halloween. By raising awareness about how costumes can reinforce harmful stereotypes and further the marginalization of minority communities, people can make informed and respectful decisions that challenge norms. |
Redesigning Democracy DialoguesSeptember 17th and October 6th, 2025For these two sessions, participants were lead through AAC&U and Institute for Democracy in Higher Education’s Democracy Re/Designed framework that gives students, faculty, and staff the tools to have real conversations about what a democracy that works for everyone could look like. It's about imagining new possibilities, questioning the status quo, and shaping systems that are more just, inclusive, and responsive to people's needs. |
Spring 2025
In the spring of 2025, the Dialogues Across Differences program designed and facilitated four dialogues centered around campus-culture and current events.
Joke's on Who? Understanding the Difference of Intent vs. Impact in ComedyApril 1st, 2025This dialogue program centered around offensive/edgy humor and discussed the line between dark humor and offensive humor, how internet culture has influenced our idea of comedy, and the relationship between free speech and responsible expression. Participants gained a greater understanding of how different types of humor impacts different people, and several participants left the dialogue with a desire to continue the conversation and learn about other perspectives regarding comedy. |
YikYakMarch 26th, 2025YikYak has become a heavily used social media platform at Dickinson since it's relaunch in 2021. Students use it to advertise upcoming events or ask questions about Dickinson logistics, but students also use it to spread rumors and fight anonymously with other anonymous peers. We brought a group of students, varying in YikYak usage, to discuss the app and its place at Dickinson, as well as the following questions: How does it help the Dickinson community? How does it hurt? At the end of the day, does it cause more harm or good to our community? |
Artificial IntelligenceFebruary 27th, 2025With the realm of academic grappling with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the implementation of it from Google to your toothbrush, the Dialogues Across Differences provided a space for students, faculty, and staff members to discuss how, if at all, they use AI and their feelings regarding AI becoming more mainstream. The group was able to emphasize with the fears surrounding AI and gained a greater understanding of useful applications of AI. |
Greek LifeFebruary 26th, 2025After witnessing a stark divide between the Greek Life and non-Greek communities here at Dickinson, in conjunction with both sides expressing that they feel stereotyped by others, the Dialogues Across Differences program set out to make that divide smaller. We brought together representatives of different Greek Life organizations and students who are not members of the Greek Life community together to discuss the stereotypes and misconceptions they face. The group was able to empathize with one another and understood why people may choose to join (or not join) a Greek Life community. It also increased communication between current Greek Life organizations and encouraged more partnerships between these organizations. |
Fall 2024
In the fall of 2024, the Dialogues Across Differences program led three different dialogue series, each with the goal of connecting differing groups. Please find more info about each of these series below:
2024 Post-Presidential ElectionDecember 3rd, 2024The Dialogues Across Differences (DxD) program designed and facilitated two dialogues centered around the 2024 presidential election, given the excessive polarization surrounding the last few presidential elections. The second dialogue was held after the election and centered around how the election results impacted the campus community, and how our community can survive polarization. |
Student-Athletes & Non-AthletesOctober 24th, 2025A student-athlete working for the DxD program led the charge on a dialogue series centered around the divide between student-athletes and non-athletes. We had noticed a trend of these groups staying relatively separate and had heard some student-athletes express their difficulties with meetings students outside of their sport due to their busy schedules. So, we decided to carve a space and time for these two groups to better understand each other and "clear the air" of how they feel about one another. |
New Protest PolicyOctober 24th, 2025A student senator who worked for DxD brought together students from different Dickinson communities came together to discuss Dickinson's new protest policy after. They expressed their feelings about the new policy and their desire of more transparency from the administration regarding this new policy. The students put together a list of what they wanted to express to the administration and a series of actionable steps to have a more transparent relationship between the student body and administration. |
2024 Pre-Presidential ElectionOctober 17th, 2024The Dialogues Across Differences (DxD) program designed and facilitated two dialogues centered around the 2024 presidential election, given the excessive polarization surrounding the last few presidential elections. The first dialogue was between Dickinson Democrats and Dickinson Republicans with the goal of having the two groups understand each others' political convictions on a more personal level. |