Press

“Although still in the minority, a growing contingent of students from the left, right and center is ditching tactics that lead to internecine hostility in favor of talking with one another to build empathy.

BridgeUSA and Sustained Dialogue are two prime examples of campus organizations committed to confronting political polarization.”

“The ideal college campus welcomes students from a range of ideological perspectives and offers opportunities for those students to come together to productively explore topics, problems, and questions.

BridgeUSA …is one leading student organization dedicated to facilitating constructive political discussion.” 

Our campuses should not be viewed as a lost cause. The throngs of students who have attended and participated in Better Angels and BridgeUSA programs are testimony to students’ thirst for discourse. 

Second, stakeholders must have access to, or be willing to create, effective strategies for enacting these values. For students, this could mean forming or participating in BridgeUSA chapters or related initiatives

“As partisan divides continue to rock Congress – and add to a contentious and bitter presidential race – more and more students have said ‘enough.’

But at least two student groups, one at the University of Colorado-Boulder the other at Notre Dame University are trying to bridge the divide through an emerging field of political thought called transpartisanship.“

“Lots of people are alarmed and exhausted by the polarization industry and are fed up with it. Many are becoming aware that their buttons are being pushed and their brains are being hacked.

More are resolving to do something about it by forming civic efforts with names like Better Angels, Bridge the Divide, BridgeUSA, Living Room Conversations, and the Listen First Project.“

After reading the article and researching the tremendously necessary initiative BridgeUSA is undertaking, I reached out to Amanda to applaud the work that the organization is doing as well as to offer my help with their efforts in whatever way they see fit.

ASU is also home to BridgeASU, one of the first chapters of BridgeUSA,… BridgeASU hosts events such as a round-robin discussion that drew 175 people interested in hearing fresh perspectives on a range of political topics.

Another method is to expose students to different perspectives – which can be a challenge in orthodox environments. … Other organizations like BridgeUSA are seeking to create communities and spaces where conversations can happen that help people identify with those with whom they disagree politically.

Leadership Now has helped drive funding from business leaders to organizations like the Center for Responsive Politics, the Voter Participation Center and BridgeUSA. The funding was committed by members of the Leadership Now Project, an organization comprised largely of business leaders that helps channel strategic investment in the political reform space.

Students are forming new clubs, reviving old ones, launching bipartisan journals and organizing events.

It’s happening across the country at campuses large and small, public and private …getting a boost from organizations like BridgeUSA, which started in 2016 at Notre Dame and the University of Colorado Boulder (and whose chapter at the University of California, Berkeley, began after violent protests around a planned visit by Milo Yiannopoulos in 2017).

Today, BridgeUSA is a national organization with a presence on campuses nationwide. Student leaders aim to foster discourse, empathy and intellectual growth.

EarthxUniversity will bring university students affiliated with BridgeUSA together with influencers from business, government, and academia. The two-day assembly will bridge the political divide impeding constructive political action.