Events

A Community Conversation on “Talking about Race”

On September 8, 2025, the Davidson College Deliberative Citizenship Initiative (DCI) and the Theatre Department co-sponsored a Community Conversation on “Talking about Race: What Makes It Possible and Productive?” in the Barber Theatre’s lobby. The conversation was held a week after the production of Dissonance on Monday, September 1 in the Barber Theatre by actor-playwrights Marci J. Duncan and Kerry Sandell. The play, which is directed by Davidson College Assistant Professor of Theatre James Webb, explores what happens when a Black woman and a White woman who have been friends for 20 years have their first open, honest conversation about race, provides a helpful backdrop for this conversation.

Some of the participants in the Community Conversation had seen the play while others had not, but everyone there was committed to exploring the question of what makes conversations about race possible and productive. The conversation was designed by DCI Senior Fellow Alyssa Henke ’26 as part of her DCI fellows deliberation project, and one of Alyssa’s goals was to generate insights and suggestions for future efforts to host conversations about race, whether at Davidson College or elsewhere.

Approximately 20 Davidson students and faculty attended the event and participated in small group discussions facilitated by several DCI Fellows. Since the event, Alyssa has compiled the notes taken by the DCI Fellows from their group’s discussions in the document below. She also developed a two-page infographic (also available below) that summarizes some of the main tips that came up in these conversations, from how to prepare for these conversations to what to pay attention to during them. The infographic also provides suggestions for conversations with both close friends and new connections.

Race is one of the most challenging topics to discuss with family, friends, colleagues, and our fellow citizens. And yet it is also one of the most important topics to engage with, given our many divides that relate to the history of slavery, Jim Crow, and efforts to advance racial equity and justice. The hope is that these tips will be helpful as we have opportunities to have conversations about race, whether they are in the context of personal relationships, local histories, or national issues.

One such opportunity is Davidson College’s upcoming dedication of its “With these Hands” memorial to the enslaved and exploited on Thursday, October 22, 2025. The memorial is designed to recognize the contributions of African Americans to the College since its founding in 1837 either as enslaved people before the Civil War or exploited people during the Jim Crow era afterwards. It will likely provoke questions and conversations about Davidson’s history, legacy, and future with regard to race; the tips below can enable those conversations to deepen our understanding of different perspectives on these questions and strengthen our relationships and sense of connection in the process.

Report Released from the DCI’s Campus Conversation on the Honor Code

July 19, 2025 by Graham Bullock

On March 27th, 2025, the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative hosted a Campus Conversation where over 50 faculty, staff, and students discussed the culture of academic integrity and the honor code at Davidson. The forum’s purpose was for the Davidson community to have a meaningful discussion about the role of academic integrity on campus. To begin the forum, the Honor Council provided an update and presentation on Davidson’s honor code. After the presentation, the participants broke into roundtable discussions where they deliberated about what academic integrity is, what a culture that embodies academic integrity looks like, and possible actions to take to improve this culture at Davidson. You can check out a summary of the event on the DCI’s website here; it includes the deliberation guide used during the discussions and some great photos of the event.

The organizers of the event – LJ Phillips ’25, Isabella Neri ’27, Cavan Klein ’27, and DCI Faculty Director Graham Bullock – have collated, analyzed, and discussed the input that participants provided via the survey we distributed after the event. They endeavored to capture the participants’ thoughts and suggestions in the document below, “Campus Conversation Report: Resources for Continued Engagement on the Honor Code.”

Like the DCI’s pathways guides that the DCI distributes after each of its deliberative forums, the report includes ideas for moving forward on the topic of the event. Options for learning more and getting more connected and involved with regard to the honor code are included for your consideration.

This document has been shared with the Honor Council, Student Government Association, the Dean of the Faculty’s Office, the President’s Office, and the Dean of Student’s Office as they consider different ways to build a more robust culture of academic integrity at Davidson. It has also been shared with attendees of the honor code forum. Our hope is that it stimulates further discussions and well-considered actions that address the concerns and questions that have been raised about academic integrity within the Davidson community.

Check out the report below!

Campus-Conversation-Report_The-Honor-Code

DCI x WALT Collaboration!

July 17, 2025 by Graham Bullock

image of two students hosting a radio show

Earlier this spring, a representative from Davidson’s student radio station, WALT, reached out to the DCI about hosting an hour-long show on the station. It could highlight the work of the DCI, discuss the challenges and opportunities of deliberation — whatever we thought might be interesting to WALT audiences. If it went well and people were interested, it could serve as a pilot for a regular show in the coming academic year. Several DCI Fellows were interested in trying it out, and so they quickly pulled together a plan at the end of the semester — actually, for a show that was broadcast on the last day of the semester, and it went really well. Especially for the first time the DCI hit the radiowaves!

DCI Fellows Grace Zagoria ’27 and Zak Abdulahi ’27 served as hosts of the show. They talked about their own experiences facilitating conversations as part of the DCI’s Forums and D Teams, and they interviewed several other fellows about their experiences. Fatima Mukasa ’28 talked about how much she enjoyed serving as a fellow as a first-year student and as an international student from Uganda. And Valeriia Kruzhkova ’26, a junior from Ukraine, also talked about her experience as both a fellow and senior fellow with the DCI.

The hosts also interspersed some of their favorite music throughout the show, along with some fun banter among themselves along the way. Check out the full episode below, and let us know if you think we should do a regular show at dci@davidson.edu:

Event Recap: DCI @ VMC!

July 17, 2025 by Graham Bullock

On May 8, several DCI Fellows represented the DCI at the Verna Miller Case Research and Creative Works Symposium on the Davidson campus. Since 2017 students have been presenting their research and creative works at this annual symposium, and the DCI has participated for the past five years. This year, students presented two posters at the community-based learning poster fair component of the symposium. The first poster highlighted the work of the DCI over the 2024-25 academic year, including its Deliberative Forums, D Teams, Fellows Program, and more. DCI Fellows Alyssa Henke ’26, Isabella Neri ’27, Zak Abdulahi ’27, and Fatima Mukasa ’28 did a great job introducing the poster and the DCI to a wide range of students, faculty, and staff.

Meanwhile, Luna Noguchi ’24 and Keya Zhou ’24 introduced a second poster designed to explain the purpose, process, and outputs of the Ginkgo Tree Project that they and several other students were involved in this past year. This project aimed was launched at the request of Dean of the Faculty Shelley Rigger to utilize a deliberative process to develop text introducing the Ginkgo trees that had planted on the Davidson campus between Chambers, Wall, and the library. The saplings are descendants of trees that had survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and were originally envisioned to be symbols of peace and warnings about war. Some students and alumni, however, felt that they did not adequately represent the full scale of the suffering of WWII in the Asia Pacific region, especially at the hands of the Japanese military in countries across East Asia and Southeast Asia. The DCI team hosted a deliberative forum to inform the campus community about the impact of war in the Asia Pacific and invite ideas for how signs and materials about the trees could indeed capture the range of feelings and interpretations about that period in history. You can read more about the project here, and we will be posting updates about it soon.

The DCI team had invited community input on the materials it had developed based on ideas generated during the forum it hosted, and poster at the Verna Miller Case symposium was another way they recruited additional feedback. The draft text for the signs and an accompanying website was included on the poster, and symposium attendees could read the text and submit their thoughts via a posted QR code. They could also talk with Keya and Luna about their impressions as well.

Overall, the symposium was a wonderful way for the DCI to share some of its work with the campus community. Check out more of the photos from the event below…

Event Recap: Deliberative Forum on Freedom of Expression at Davidson

May 21, 2025 by Graham Bullock

On April 23, the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative hosted a Deliberative Forum on “Free Expression at Davidson: Rights and Responsibilities during an Uncertain Time.” The forum was the last DCI event to be held in the Lilly Gallery before it is transformed into a study space for the next two years while the library is renovated. A total of 144 people attended the event; 61 in-person and 83 online.

Like most past DCI forums, this event included both expert speakers and an opportunity for the audience to engage with one another on the topic. But instead of a panel or roundtable discussion, this time the speakers spoke sequentially to freely express their thoughts about free expression.

The speakers included Melissa Gonzalez (Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies, Gender & Sexuality Studies and Latin American Studies), Dan Layman (Associate Professor of Philosophy), Jim Martin ’57 (Former Davidson Associate Professor of Chemistry and Former Governor of North Carolina), Ike Bailey ’95 (Professor of the Practice in Communication Studies), Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill (Director of the Campus Free Expression Project, Council of Independent Colleges) and Stacey Riemer (Interim Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students). The event was moderated by Graham Bullock, Associate Professor of Political Science and Faculty Director of the DCI.

Melissa Gonzalez speaking to the audience.

Following the speakers’ remarks, audience members began talking with each other around roundtables in person and in breakout rooms online. Following the DCI’s deliberation guide written for this forum (provided below) and guided by the DCI’s trained facilitators, the discussions explored three related themes and questions:

The Nature and Importance of Freedom of Expression: Why do we value it in a democratic society and in higher education?
The Nature of Responsible Freedom of Expression: What are reasonable limits on our right to “free speech?”
Davidson College’s Approach to Freedom of Expression and the Student Code of Responsibility: How does and how should the College respond to concerns about the expression of particular viewpoints on campus?

Feedback from the event was very positive. 92% of respondents to the post-event survey left either somewhat or very hopeful that we can identify at least some areas of agreement on the importance of free expression and reasonable limits on free speech, 94% reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their small group discussion and likely to participate in another Deliberative Forum in the future, and 97% stated they were likely or highly likely to recommend participating in a Deliberative Forum to a friend.

Below are some of the comments that participants shared about their experience at the forum:

“I am really proud to know my alma matter is thinking about this and proactively encouraging discussion. I am proud to be a Davidson Alumni.” Conservative Female Participant

“I applaud you for including an ideologically diverse panel. Though I did not agree with one of the members, it was such a great model of civil discourse! Thank you to Dr. Bailey for his inspiring message to us all!! The event was fantastic, and our small group deliberation was a joy. Thank you to the DCI for this Deliberative Forum! Thanks to the deliberation guide, panel, and small group deliberation, I learned much about the topic, as well as how to deliberate together. Deliberative Forums are a very worthy investment in time personally and for our communities and society.” Liberal Female Participant

“It’s refreshing and encouraging to see an institution of higher learning actively solicit opinions from and engage with a diverse group of students, faculty, alumni, parents, and friends. It speaks to the philosophy of the College…a philosophy from which many other institutions could stand to learn.” Moderate Male Participant

“I enjoyed participating with other thoughtful, intelligent people of varying ages as they discussed a difficult topic.” Conservative Male Participant

“Thank you for hosting this important event, and for the broad range of speakers on the panel. Our small group was well-facilitated by a current student, who set clear parameters, included everyone, and kept the conversation moving. The advance reading provided a good foundation while also being an accessible length. Institutions of higher learning have a powerful opportunity and responsibility right now to protect freedom of speech and it is heartening to know how Davidson is striving to stand up for free speech in our current cultural climate. It was refreshing to reconnect with Davidson by learning about the topic of free speech from faculty, staff, and alumni who offered a broad range of perspectives. I am encouraged to see how carefully this topic is being considered on campus and appreciate the opportunity to connect with others in the structured small group discussion.” Moderate Female Participant

“I thought our moderator was excellent and mature for a sophomore. The organization of the subject matter was great. The diversity of the panel was better than I expected. Being a conservative I did not expect my views to be heard or accepted. I was pleasantly surprised and considered the opposition well formed. I would have enjoyed further discussion.” Conservative Male Participant

“How we do anything matters as much as what we do. The DCI brings people together and teaches us how to be deliberative and how to be an effectively engaged citizen, skills that have application across a wide spectrum of critical issues. While I (as a Davidson parent) benefit personally from the wealth of information and opportunities the DCI offers, what I most appreciate is this opportunity for students. The DCI is supporting Davidson’s statement of purpose in countless way, both directly and indirectly.” Liberal Female Participant

Participants were also invited to like to share any other comments, suggestions, or questions about free expression at Davidson that they would like the College to take into consideration in its approach to managing the tensions around protecting freedom of expression and promoting belong and mutual respect. Responses to this question are included in the document below.

DCI-Forum-on-Free-Expression-Participant-Responses

Check out the recording of the speakers’ remarks, deliberation guide, pathways guide and more photos from the event below.