Enhancing Community Conversations

There has been a lot of good conversation on campus this spring on the topic of diversity and community at Harvard. Recent pieces published in The Crimson, the “I, Too, Am Harvard” Tumblr, and face-to-face conversations with undergraduates and our colleagues have had great influence on us and our planning for Opening Days for the Class of 2018.

Those of us who have been around Harvard for a while, or those of us who have participated in Opening Days, know that Community Conversations is the one time, outside the classroom, when all Harvard undergraduates are required to think about identity (meaning our gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, and so on) and how we relate to those around us.

We strongly believe that these conversations ought not be the only time we reflect together on these topics. Talking about who we are and how we fit in together as a community is not easy and takes time. We recognize that a single, 90-minute session during Opening Days is really just the beginning. The beginning, however, is significant and needs our careful attention if what follows is to be meaningful for all.

After several years of feedback from undergraduates we know that Community Conversations has varying impact—some positive, some negative. So, last December, we decided to try to better understand what was happening with Community Conversations by asking all the members of the Class of 2017.

Through that survey, we learned some interesting points—many of which are fairly obvious, but will help improve Community Conversations in the future. First, we must establish a safe environment in order for students to feel comfortable participating, especially when the conversation veers toward the personal. Second, it is important to find ways to draw multiple perspectives into the conversation if these discussions are to lead us to think about what it is like to stand in someone else’s shoes. Third, facilitators must ensure that no one person, or few people, is allowed to dominate the conversation.

It was notable to us that 80 percent of the 1,391 survey respondents “felt that the exercise of Community Conversations was relevant and thought provoking.” Of those in that 80 percent, there is variance by race. For instance, 88 percent of students who identified as foreign nationals and 88 percent of self-identified blacks found Community Conversations “relevant and thought provoking” in comparison to 78 percent of self-identified white students.

The question for us now is: How we can make these conversations equally “relevant and thought provoking” for all students? And, how can we inspire these conversations to happen more often, either in an organic or structured way?

Related to this point, The Crimson reported on March 28 about a town hall meeting held by Latino and Black students. After reading that Community Conversations was one point of discussion at the town hall, we reached out to students quoted in the article to ask if we could hear about their experience and to gather their feedback.

A group of eight undergraduates met with the two of us on April 11 to talk about the goals of Community Conversations, the common readings, concerns about facilitation, and the size and composition of the discussion groups.

The conversation with those students was very helpful to us and we’re grateful for their good ideas, many of which will be implemented this coming fall.

For instance, alongside the packet of readings, members of the Class of 2018 will also receive a glossary of important terms (e.g. preferred gender pronouns, privilege, and so on) as well as a description of diversity-related resources and services at Harvard. We are also expanding our team of facilitators to include administrators and teaching fellows and are hoping to involve more undergraduates as facilitators. Our goal is that teams of facilitators will attend a common training, learning together and developing a shared vision for how to lead their Community Conversation.

This summer, one of the Freshman Dean’s Office’s undergraduate interns will be conducting a benchmarking project to look at how other universities raise the issue of diversity during orientation. We are and will remain committed to celebrating and exploring our diversity, yet we know that there may be other ways to raise our collective consciousness. A report of the findings of this project will be submitted to us in the fall of 2014, and we will hold open forums to discuss potential new ways of orienting the Class of 2019 to our remarkable community.

Again, we acknowledge that Community Conversations is just one of what we hope will be a lifetime of meaningful, sometimes challenging, but always respectful dialogues about core issues of our humanity. It’s our responsibility and our honor to do this with you. We rely on your engaged participation.

Thomas A. Dingman ’67, Ed.M. ’73, is Dean of Freshmen. Katherine W. Steele Ed.M. ’02 is Director for Freshman Programming.