People with opposing political views don’t always have an open forum for discussion.
Creating that space with a free dinner is the goal of “The People’s Supper,” which the University of Wyoming’s Service, Leadership and Community Engagement (SLCE) program and the Good Mule Project will be hosting at 6 p.m. today in the Union Family Room.
This event brings individuals of differing political and ideological viewpoint together for a friendly, civil conversation over a shared meal with the goal of building and repairing interpersonal relationships. Attendees are encouraged to share personal stories and experiences in an effort to better understand the different perspectives across UW’s campus.
Often students’ political views reflect Wyoming’s as a red state, but SLCE markets this event to many different groups to recruit a variety of viewpoints.
“At our first event I had both a DACA student and a member of an ultra-conservative RSO sitting at my table,” senior project coordinator Richard Raridon said, referring to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, immigration policy allowing the children of illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. “I am guessing those two students would not have found themselves sharing a meal together otherwise, which is what I think makes this a great event.”
Individuals can get fired up and passionate about their political and ideological views, but SLCE has not had a problem in the previous three People’s Suppers. Facilitators are stationed at each table in case of disputes.
“So far it hasn’t even been an issue,” Raridon said. “We discuss expectations at the beginning of the dinner and folks are choosing to come to an event that is marketed as civil discussion, so I would be surprised if we ever did have a problem.”
The goal for the dinner is to give people the chance to share their own stories and views while hearing the same from others. SLCE hopes students can see there are more layers to a person on the opposite side of the political spectrum than just their political ideology; there is more to the opposing side than people might see on television, social media and other media sources.
The Good Mule Project, one of the supper’s sponsors, is an event series at UW promoting dialogue and action around issues of multiculturalism and diversity through the lens of social justice activism. “Activism 101 Panel” and “Social Justice 101” were some of the events The Good Mule Project has hosted this year. The People’s Supper will be the project’s last event this school year.
“I would encourage anyone who is nervous about having this kind of conversation to just come,” Raridon said.
The People’s Supper is free and open to the UW community, with RSVPs required. RSVP through SLCE’s UW Connect page at UWyo.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/slce. Attendance is capped at 50 for the event. For more information about SLCE or The People’s Supper visit UWyo.edu/slce or the SLCE’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
