Breaking the Silence, Hot Topic Discussions at BSU!
On Tuesday, October 8, the Martin Richard Institute for Social Justice (MRISJ) held their third Hot Topic session of the semester on reproductive rights. These events are all about exploring viewpoints on topics for the November election, and providing helpful information to students while creating a safe environment to discuss these issues. To say that they succeeded in this goal is an understatement.
The event was broken down into two parts: panelists discussing the issue, in this case, reproductive rights, and the discussion between everyone’s tables on the questions presented. While the discussions allowed those to share their views, the issue breakdown was just as important. I learned a lot about the historical perspective surrounding reproductive rights, and one point that was heavily emphasized was that a discussion is not just an ‘I agree’ or ‘I disagree,’ it’s all in-betweens that lead us to our overall opinion. Each voice is unique and shaped by their own experiences and views.
While the experiences shared are confidential, I can say that through our group discussions, I got to hear some voices I hadn’t heard before. We had a really nice conversation and even though not everyone shared the same opinions, it didn’t end in a fight like most political discussions tend to end these days. There was still passion within the discussions but none of it was argumentative or ‘how dare you disagree’ but instead counterpoints that made it a discussion. It also helped that there were questions provided that broke the silence and gave the conversation a jumping-off point.
While the fourth session would have happened by the time this issue comes out, there will be another Hot Topic on climate change on October 22. For more information on other MRISJ events, be sure to check them out on EngageBSU.
