High School

Previously Real Talk:

Real Talk was created by debate partners Divya Ganesan and Eliza Goler to address national trends of polarization in their local community and beyond. As a public forum duo, they recognized the value of the critical thinking skills and diverse perspectives represented in debate that was often absent from other settings.

In 2019, they started Real Talk to create opportunities for peers to engage in political discourse on their campuses.

BridgeUSA incorporated Real Talk in summer 2021, and welcomed their high school chapters into the Bridge network. As part of the BridgeUSA organization, BridgeUSA High School will engage high school students across the ideological spectrum in constructive dialogue across party lines.

Previously TAP (The Acceptance Project):

The Acceptance Project (TAP) was created in 2017 by Taha Vahanvaty, an 8th-grader at the time. Following the 2016 presidential election, his school district, Stroudsburg Area School District, saw a sharp uptick in verbal, physical, and online incivility. For this reason, Vahanvaty created TAP to foster civil discourse grounded in the lived experiences of his peers. Through TAP, students are provided with the space and opportunity to engage across their differences through productive conversation.

BridgeUSA added TAP to its community of high school chapters in April 2022 to further engagement among high schoolers and expand opportunities for constructive dialogue on campus. At the time of its incorporation, TAP had 10 chapters in the U.S.