Every year, the DCI’s student fellows all develop and implement their own personal deliberation projects, and they are consistently the highlights of the year for us. After going through intensive training in how to facilitate contentious conversations and then serving as a facilitator of the DCI’s D Teams and Deliberative Forum discussions, the Fellows apply their skills to designing and hosting conversations on topics of personal interest to them. They select their topics and begin developing their project plans in the fall semester, and then revise and implement those plans in the spring semester.
DCI staff provide feedback to the fellows on their ideas and suggest relevant resources throughout the process, but these projects are very much the fellows’ own initiatives. They are responsible for identifying the topic, developing their deliberation guide, recruiting participants, finding a time and space for their discussion, and hosting it themselves. The Fellows very much appreciate this autonomy and independence they have in developing their projects. It enables them to demonstrate the full range of skills they have learned over the course of their year as a Fellow, discover the challenges and pitfalls of designing and implementing these types of conversations, and experience the joy of bringing people together to discuss hard topics and strengthen their own deliberative muscles.
In past years, these projects have generally been small-scale conversations with friends and roommates, or perhaps with a small group of students with a range of viewpoints on the issue at hand. This year, the Fellows truly outdid themselves, organizing creative, complex, and often major programs in collaboration with professors, campus offices, and local government officials. The sections below summarize each of the nine projects that the 2024-25 cohort of Fellows implemented this spring. Their topics included the honor code at Davidson, the legacies of WWII in the Asia Pacific, the Red Line station in Davidson, campus pop-up deliberations, a deliberation workshop organized for the Chidsey Leadership Program, a deliberative forum on historical narratives co-organized with the History Department, a community conversation about race, a video game deliberation, and a campus video dialogue project.
Some fellows worked individually on their projects, while others worked with other Fellows and Senior Fellows to complete their projects. Learn more below from the project summaries below, which were written by the Fellows themselves:
2024-25 Deliberation Projects Summaries
Town of Davidson Red Line Station Community Conversation
Garratt Rothberg ’27 and Zak Abdulahi ’27 hosted a deliberation on urban planning and the development of the Red Line Commuter Rail project in Davidson, specifically addressing local transit issues and the broader development implications for community members, students, and faculty. The deliberation was held on Davidson College’s campus on February 26th from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Attendees included Davidson planning directors, town commissioners, community members, and Davidson College students and faculty.
Participants engaged in a deliberation guided by materials prepared by Garratt and Zak, focusing on station planning proposals, analyzing the benefits and tradeoffs of various station placements, and exploring the potential impacts of the Red Line project on local businesses, connectivity, and traffic. The deliberation featured productive conversation between a diverse group of stakeholders, culminating in participants filling out a feedback survey for the town planners with their thoughts and ideas on the station planning.
The project highlighted the importance of community input in shaping public policy projects. Within this critical setting, deliberation is a valuable tool for finding ideal policy choices that garner widespread support among citizens.
Chidsey Leadership Program Deliberation Training Workshop
This March Tehinnah Kitcher ’27 and Atyantika Mookherjee ’27 co-led a project called “Bridging Perspectives: Empowering Leaders to Connect, Deliberate, and Drive Change Together” which united the Chidsey Program for Leadership Development and the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative (DCI).
The Chidsey Leadership Fellows’ Program emphasizes leadership as an intentional and evolving practice, focusing on personal choice, resilience, opportunity, and connection. It views leadership as a journey shaped by decisions, the courage to tackle challenges, the openness to see possibility, and the commitment to build connections. By embracing these pillars, Chidsey Fellows learn to grow as leaders who can positively impact their communities through empathy, responsibility, and collaboration. Tehinnah and Atyantika are both Chidsey and DCI fellows. They began to notice that together, the DCI and Chidsey provide students with a powerful set of complementary skills: DCI cultivates the ability to navigate complex discussions, while Chidsey emphasizes leading with empathy and purpose.
Tehinnah and Atyantika gave the Chidsey Fellows an overview of the four facilitation styles and specific techniques to enhance communication and build understanding. They drew from the same frameworks that they learned in their official DCI facilitator training. Each style offered a different way of guiding a conversation and shaping group dynamics. The Chidsey Fellows got to implement these roles through a mock deliberation. Afterwards, they had a chance to reflect on their facilitation styles and skills.
This unique collaboration between DCI and the Chidsey Leadership Program helps to create future leaders who are equipped not only with technical skills but also with a deep understanding of how to navigate complex, real-world challenges. By integrating DCI’s facilitation skills, which are centered around being attentive, respectful, and open-minded, with Chidsey’s core values, we’re fostering leaders who can engage in constructive, inclusive conversations. Such leaders are more adaptable, open to diverse viewpoints, and skilled at finding common ground, all of which are critical in a rapidly changing and interconnected world.
Tehinnah and Atyantika are excited to see the DCI continue to collaborate and engage with the campus and broader community. Future collaborations would undoubtedly provide greater insights as to how dialogue and deliberation influence other fields. In a world that is growing more polarized and intolerant, quality deliberation and dialogue is essential.
Deliberative Forum on the Power of Historical Narratives and Contested Histories
TBC Takougnadi ’27 organized a forum event titled “The Power of Historical Narratives and Contested Histories,” which was a panel-based deliberative discussion designed to explore the ways historical narratives are constructed, contested, and interpreted in contemporary society. The event focused on how history is told, who gets to tell it, and how differing perspectives shape our understanding of the past and present.
The event was held on April 8, 2025, on the campus of Davidson College, and lasted approximately 120 minutes with the first 45 minutes dedicated to speakers and the last 75 minutes for the table discussions. The event was hosted in a communal space, the New Football Stadium’s Gallery 18, that allowed for both panel presentations and small-group discussions around tables.
The planning process involved collaboration with faculty in the History Department, and the panelists were selected based on their academic backgrounds and relevance to the topic. The speakers were nominated with guidance from the department chair and selected by TBC. The audience included a mix of Davidson College students, faculty, and staff. In total, 34 individuals participated, including the five invited panelists.
The event opened with brief presentations from each panelist, who shared insights into how history can be framed through different lenses political, social, and cultural. These remarks helped set the stage for the deliberation. Following the panel, participants gathered around five tables for small-group discussions facilitated by volunteers. Due to a shortage of official facilitators, several attendees stepped up to lead these conversations, which proved successful and enriching. To name some, key topics of discussion included: The role of historians in shaping public memory, how marginalized voices are often excluded or misrepresented in mainstream narratives, and the impact of historical interpretation on present-day policies and identities.
The event concluded with a collective reflection, during which participants shared final thoughts and reactions informally. Many expressed appreciations for the format and content of the event, especially the opportunity to engage with peers and faculty in meaningful dialogue. Despite some logistical challenges, particularly the late timing of publicity and a lack of assigned facilitators, the event was well received. Participants also enjoyed the provided refreshments, which helped create a welcoming atmosphere.
Overall, the project was a successful effort in fostering thoughtful dialogue on a timely and important subject. It demonstrated the value of collaborative, interdisciplinary events in building civic awareness and critical thinking among members of the campus community.
Campus Conversation on the Honor Code
The Honor Code Campus Conversation was organized by DCI Senior Fellow and Co-Convener LJ Philips ’25 and DCI Fellows Isabella Neri ’27 and Cavan Klein ’27. My deliberation project (along with co-hosts Isabella Neri and LJ Phillips) was a forum about the honor code. It was held in the Lilly Gallery on Davidson’s campus on March 27, 2025 from 5-6:30pm. The event was targeted towards Davidson students, faculty, and staff with the goal of providing a space for them to talk about the culture of academic integrity at Davidson and evaluate the current state of the Honor Code. There were about 45 total people in attendance including a good mix of students, faculty and staff.
The first 10 minutes were reserved for people to get food, then Tyler Puleo and Mary Gray Speakman, representatives from the Honor Council, took 20 minutes to give a short presentation about the goals and formal procedures of the Honor Council. Then, the deliberation began! Beforehand, the fellows developed a deliberation guide that provided important background information and discussion questions for the participants to deliberate on, including topics such as “What is Academic Integrity,” “Evaluating Our Culture,” and “How to Foster a Culture of Academic Integrity.”
The forum had about 8 tables of deliberation, and by the end of the event, the deliberators had had many good conversations. The discussions generally focused on where Davidson is with the Honor Code, how it can move forward, and what can be implemented or removed to improve the system. The night concluded with each table discussing and writing down comments, concerns, and potential solutions. These comments were then condensed and clarified to be sent to the Honor Council and included in our pathways guide, which was then shared with everyone. You can check them out yourself here.
Pop-Up Deliberation Project
On Davidson College’s 2,000 student campus, quick greetings in passing and brief interactions are common. Fellows Ben Files ’25, Izzy Cevallos ’27, Jane McNeill ’28, and Liam Mann ’27 worked to explore how these small moments could become the foundation for intentional and thoughtful dialogue. Inspired by brief interactions on walks across campus, similar DCI events, and Duke’s mobile “couching” sessions, their pop-up deliberation worked to invite individuals to think more about the why behind their beliefs when answering questions.
Located in the courtyard between E. H. Little Library and Chambers Buildings, the group offered passerbys candy in exchange for answering a question. The questions, cut into slips, ranged from lighter personal reflection (“What’s something everyone should try at least once? What’s a small act of kindness that you think makes a big difference?) to philosophical questions (“Do we have a moral obligation to help strangers in need, even if it comes at a cost to us? Are we defined more by our actions or our intentions?) and political inquiries (“Is there an issue you’ve completely changed your mind on? What is the role of the media in relation to politics, public opinion, and elections?).
The informal nature encouraged low-stakes participation, and participants would usually receive a follow-up question to better understand why individuals believe what they do. The fellows organizing the project found that when individuals were given the space and time to answer they were far more likely to explain what influences their beliefs. Participants appreciated the informality and demonstrated how low-stakes, informal formats can serve as a powerful entry point into the deliberative process. Stay tuned for some upcoming blog posts that will share more about these “pop-up” conversations…
Video Game Deliberation Project
Owen Brent-Levenstein ’27 wanted to explore how he could apply deliberation strategies to more everyday life contexts, and so he centered his deliberation project around one level of a video game, Bloons TD 6, that he and his friends had been unable to beat. The idea behind it was that arguments over video game strategy were more chaotic and unhealthy than almost any other type of discussion. Often in the heat of the moment, people end up yelling over each other, blaming each other, and often fail to take the time to truly compose themselves and think about what actually went wrong. So, Owen attempted to make a guide that included statistics about the game (such as the amount of money we would have at a given point in the game), and then laid out different strategies with related statistics on the strength of the characters involved. This turned out to be harder than expected, as did hosting the conversation itself. Stay tuned for a blog post from Owen that will discuss in more detail what he learned from this experience.
Campus “Take an Opinion, Leave an Opinion” Video Dialogue Project
DCI Fellow Fatima Mukasa ’28 wanted to use her deliberation project to reach a wide group of people who may not know much about deliberation or the DCI. She called her project, Take an Opinion, Leave an Opinion, and it was inspired by the Tiktok page, “Read a Secret, Leave a Secret.”
Designed to foster open dialogue and critical thinking, the project invited students and faculty to anonymously share their perspectives on thought-provoking topics, which others then read and responded to. These responses were recorded and will be shared online, creating a broader platform for engagement. By encouraging open-mindedness and empathetic communication, the project aims to cultivate a space where diverse viewpoints can be expressed without stigma and aims to strengthen the Davidson community’s ability to navigate complex discussions with curiosity and respect.
She set up a table and camera near the flagpole outside Chambers, the main classroom building on campus, and asked students passing by in between classes to share their perspective on a topic by writing it down on a piece of paper and leaving it on the table. They could also pick up an opinion that was left by someone else and respond to it — on camera for 30-60 seconds. Fatima then compiled these recordings into a short video that we’ve shared below and will also be shared on social media for the broader community to view and engage with. Fatima’s hope is that her project will foster a space where people feel as though they can share their opinions and can engage with other viewpoints, allowing them to be more open-minded, more engaged, and more effective communicators.
The topics that Fatima chose were the same topics being discussed by the DCI’s D Teams, and she hosted her table a week or so after each set of D Team discussions were completed. She and other DCI Fellows included some opinions that D Team participants raised (without attribution) on the table for her visitors to respond to, creating a nice connection between these two DCI programs. Students who were on a D Team could also stop by and share their perspectives that might have come up during their discussions.
Check out Fatima’s three “Take an Opinion, Leave an Opinion” videos here — the topics are the opioid epidemic, lessons learned from COVID, and healthcare reform, the compilations feature the voices of numerous Davidson students…
Legacies of WWII in the Asia Pacific Project
DCI Co-Convener and Senior Fellow Flo Moser ’26 and DCI Fellows Luna Noguchi ’25, Lily Ogawa ’28, and Casey Scheiner ’25 worked together on an extensive project relating to the eight ginkgo trees that were planted on Davidson College’s campus in Spring 2024. Descendants of trees that survived the Hiroshima atomic bombing and donated by Green Legacy Hiroshima, these trees symbolize both the dangers of nuclear weapons and the resilience of humanity and nature.
Following the planting, some students and alumni of Chinese and Korean backgrounds expressed concern that their planting did not sufficiently represent the broader historical context, particularly the suffering caused by Imperial Japan’s invasions across Asia. In response, Dean Shelley Rigger invited the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative (DCI) to help facilitate a community-wide deliberation on how to contextualize the trees through thoughtful signage and interpretive materials.
With the support and assistance of DCI Faculty Director Graham Bullock, Flo, Luna, Lily, and Casey organized a Deliberative Forum in Spring 2025 that included faculty presentations, survivor testimonials, and facilitated small-group discussions. Student, faculty, staff, and community participants deliberated about the complex legacies of war in the region and submitted written reflections on what should be included on signs and interpretative materials introducing the trees.
From these reflections, the team identified six core themes and drafted content for physical signs and related online resources.. The project seeks to create a reflective, inclusive memorial that acknowledges the universal human cost of war and promotes dialogue across perspectives. Through QR codes on each sign, visitors can access additional materials, and the site will grow over time as the Davidson community continues to reflect on war’s legacy and the enduring pursuit of peace. Click here to read more about the project.
Conversations about Race Project
Alyssa Henke ’25 and Madeline Kleiner ’28 both both wanted to do their deliberation project on something related to the theater, which they both have an interest in. DCI Faculty Director Graham Bullock and Theater Professor James Webb had been talking for some time about collaborating on a project together, and Alyssa and Madeline were excited to help make such a collaboration a reality. They met and agreed that organizing a community conversation following the upcoming performance of the play, Dissonance, on campus would be a great way to connect deliberation with the dramatic arts.
The play, directed by Professor Webb, portrays an extended conversation between two close female friends, one black and one white, that dives deeply into the challenges of race in American society. Often, after seeing the play, audience members are motivated to engage in a similar conversation among their friends, but don’t know if or how that might be possible. Alyssa and Madeline thought it might be helpful to organize a conversation that explored exactly that question — what is necessary for conversations about race to be possible and productive? With the support of Dr. Webb and Dr. Bullock, they developed a deliberation guide that will be used to host and facilitate such a conversation following the fall 2025 performance of the play at Davidson. Stay tuned for information for this community conversation coming soon…
Latvia and NATO Project
Building on her personal interest in the subject, Grace Zagoria ’27 organized a deliberation on the pros and cons of Latvia’s NATO membership with from Latvia and Davidson. In the weeks leading up to the event, she wrote a 20-page guide for the deliberation, while rallying students from Davidson’s Political Science and Russian Studies departments to join. While a last-minute scheduling conflict prevented the Latvian students from joining the discussion, more than twenty Davidson students gathered with Grace and another DCI Fellow (Cavan Klein) to discuss Latvia’s history, Russia’s aggression in Georgia and Ukraine, and the “Don’t Poke the Bear” theory. Among the participants were Davidson students from Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Georgia, who brought both international and post-Soviet perspectives to the discussion. While a large percentage of the group argued more in favor of Latvia’s NATO membership, other deliberators cited concerns about stretching NATO’s borders too far east too soon. Regardless, all participants stayed true to the spirit of DCI’s core tenets of respect and patience, floating questions to other deliberators and expressing their agreements and disagreements along the way.
