Adithi Jayaraman '24 and Jhozef Sheldia '24 | One Small Step, StoryCorps x Dartmouth

Adithi Jayaraman ’24 and Jhozef Sheldia ’24 took part in a facilitated conversation, excerpted here, as part of the Dialogue Project’s partnership with StoryCorps’ One Small Step. Created by StoryCorps, One Small Step brings two people with different political beliefs together to interview each other and get to know one another as people. The initiative is an effort to remind the country of the humanity in all of us, even those with whom we disagree.
The Dialogue Project provides training in the development of essential collaborative dialogue skills-fostering a community that cultivates the respectful and open exchange of ideas. Programming for students, faculty, and staff builds skills in such topics as empathetic listening, managing emotions, navigating conversations, and finding points of connection. To learn more, visit dialogueproject.dartmouth.edu.

[@bobstone2720]

I didn’t see anything challenging in that conversation. If that’s a small step, I’d call that an ant step. The current administration has implemented some controversial programs which existentially threaten the future of America. I want to hear debate on these issues.

[@Stephanie-612]

Hello. I was the Facilitator for this conversation, which was 50 minutes long. Many participants do delve into challenging topics, including this pair. For others, just sitting across from someone with differing political views is challenging enough. We encourage anyone who is curious about perspectives that are different from their own to sign up, not to debate, but to get to know each other as humans.

[@ElenaBaum]

I’m hoping that’s not the whole conversation. It may have allowed them to speak platitudes to each other, but they didn’t address anything difficult. Not sure I get it, if this is an example of success?