Intersections Project teaches the importance of respectful, inclusive discussions

As kindergarteners, students are taught a few essential rules in an effort to maintain order in the classroom. Among these are: “raise your hand," “use indoor voices” and, perhaps most importantly, “treat others the way you want to be treated.” As children grow and mature, the rules by which they govern their lives are, naturally, reevaluated and refined, but it is often those same principles that allowed for a peaceful classroom of active learning that remain at the core of what is necessary to facilitate the workings of a diplomatic greater society. The Tufts Intersections Project recognizes just that.

Intersections, which was established on campus this semester, is comprised of a series of discussion circles of eight to 10 students, led by a facilitator, that aim not only to construct comfortable and safe environments for dialogue, but to educate the students involved on how to partake in and contribute to discussions about controversial topics, all while being receptive to a wide range of opinions and perspectives. Students inherently have strong positions on certain issues, and often discount their classmates with different views. Intersections aims to minimize the influence of these personal opinions when students first bring them into a conversation by encouraging them to enter discussions with the intentions of better understanding others’ perspectives and how they came to be formed.

Intersections seeks to provide students with the tools to use the skills they have learned in the series of discussion circles to participate in and enable conversations in the greater campus community and beyond. The commendable goal is to teach students to be active facilitators of dialogue about divisive topics in a way that does not divide those partaking in the discourse -- a skill that is crucial not only in a university setting, but in a world where a diverse array of opinions and perspectives are the encouraged and unavoidable norm.

One of the privileges of being a member of the Tufts University student body is getting the chance to live and learn with a group of more than 5,000 individuals who are passionate about a wide range of topics and issues. In combination with the diverse catalog of relevant courses and learning opportunities available to students, Tufts’ campus is an environment in which discourse can be found within a wide spectrum of perspectives and ideas, and education is not limited to academic curricula. The Tufts Intersections Project works to facilitate learning in this campus-wide “classroom” in a way that is all-inclusive, respectful and safe for all voices.