Courtesy of Katy Stern

Director of Institutional Inclusion and Diversity Programs Katy Stern believes there is a critical distinction between a debate and a discussion.

“In a debate, there’s a winning view. In a discussion, we’re having a conversation to understand the other side, not necessarily to win or change each other’s minds,” Stern said.

She expressed that while debate has its place, the new Bowdoin Conversation Fellowship encourages students to engage in thoughtful conversation and enhance their understanding of opposing viewpoints.

The fellowship emerged from nationwide conversations surrounding political polarization and campus dialogue. During her 2024 Viewpoint Exchange Series lecture on democracy and political discourse, University of Virginia (UVA) Professor Rachel Wahl referenced the Karsh Institute of Democracy’s Civic Cornerstone Fellowship.

Stern, inspired by the novel program and the premise of respectful disagreement, visited UVA to observe the fellowship and meet with its director. Wahl supplemented this experience by leading a faculty workshop at Bowdoin.

Stern returned to Bowdoin with plans for an iteration of UVA’s fellowship that would be compatible with a smaller campus community. After months of preparation, the College instituted the Bowdoin Conversation Fellowship in conjunction with the broader Viewpoint Exchange Series.

Thirty students were selected for the fellowship’s first class, which has been meeting for weekly sessions throughout the spring semester. From January to April, participants partake in guided conversations to practice attentive listening and considerate disagreement. Students will earn a $500 stipend upon completion of the fellowship.

Assistant Director of Student Wellness Programs Kate Nicholson begins each session with five minutes of mindfulness. She encourages students to pause and breathe rather than reacting impulsively during strenuous conversations.

Following this meditative moment, students initiate discussions on topics such as abortion, immigration and recent presidential elections. During these conversations, Stern prompts students with example statements and questions.

“We have follow-up questions and we encourage people to pose different questions … to deepen understanding, questions to explore disagreement and questions to [contend with] upset and uncertainty,” Stern said.

Fellowship participants are assigned to small table groups, which are rearranged midway through the semester. This seating arrangement allows students to develop rapport with their table companions, while also exposing them to other participants’ unique perspectives.

Samantha Yeung ’29 applied to the fellowship as an international student curious about American politics and discourse through disagreement. Although Yeung said the program proved more politically centered than she initially anticipated, the fellowship has stimulated many “substantial conversations” at her table.

Despite the undeniable presence of politics throughout fellowship discussions, Evan Braude ’28 expressed that true disagreements remain scarce. Braude reflected that while Bowdoin students appear comfortable contradicting the administration’s decisions, they may hesitate to oppose their peers.

Braude and Yeung proposed that a desire for cohesion can contribute to what they described as a political monoculture, where students may shy away from vocalizing opinions that diverge from perceived campus norms and remain complacent to avoid “fracturing” the community.

“I think people really love Bowdoin and they’re very happy here … but sometimes that happiness gets conflated with [complacency],” Braude said.

Participants conceded that the majority of Bowdoin students have similar overarching political ideologies. As a result, deliberately fostering disagreement can feel disingenuous when many students’ fundamental views are aligned. Braude added that the consistent agreements at her table were expected.

Still, students commended the fellowship’s coordinated efforts to enrich political discourse on campus. Participants referenced the consistent mindfulness practices and a valuable listening exercise where students spoke side by side as positive aspects of the program thus far.

Enthusiastic about the fellowship’s open-endedness, Stern eagerly awaits fellows’ contributions to Bowdoin’s campus and beyond.

“I’m really excited to see where this could go,” Stern shared. “I imagine someone who’s going to be a proctor next year thinking about how they could bring respect to conversations on their floor, and somebody who’s part of an athletic team or the Outing Club handling disagreements. Wherever you are, how can you bring respect when we don’t always agree?”

By encouraging students to model respectful disagreements in their own communities, the fellowship intends to normalize honest, constructive dialogue that cultivates understanding. The capacity to courteously disagree requires a willingness to disagree, two integral skills that fellowship participants are intent upon developing.

“The thoughtfulness that students are bringing to the conversations and what they’re sharing each session is really inspiring,” Stern said. “It gives me hope.”