On October 16 at 12:15 p.m., UWS students gathered in the Pope Wright Center for an event held by Bridging the Divide, a program of the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.
The program exists in the Universities of Wisconsin as a whole, with other Bridging the Divide programs existing on other UW campuses. Each program is dedicated to bringing meaningful discussions into students’ lives.
Map of Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Photo from iStock | The Promethean
Bridging the Divide, “is a student-led, peer-to-peer platform for civil discourse,” said Oreoluwa Sofolahan, UWS student and campus leader of UWS’ Bridging the Divide. The goal of Bridging the Divide is to bring together students with differing ideologies for civil conversations about current controversial issues.
Sofolahan shared a brief history of the region’s conflict, explaining how Israel was granted statehood and how the after-effects of World War II inform current events. Then students split into two groups and discussed a series of prompts relating to the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine.
Prompts ranged from questions about social media’s influence on information dissemination to ideas regarding nationality, race, and religion. Although perspectives differed between attending students, the conversation remained respectful throughout.
One question prompted students to talk about the role that religion plays in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A student shared their opinion that the conflict was spurred on by differences in ideological values rather than religious beliefs, citing Zionism as an ideology that has ignited the conflict. (Brittanica defines Zionism as a “nationalist movement with the goal of the creation and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine”).
Another student thought it important to mention the historical context dating back further than World War II, such as the Jewish Diaspora.
Students also talked about the role that social media plays in the topic, largely agreeing that sites like X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok all feed into the spread of misinformation. One student said that getting your information from social media is like being in an echo chamber.
They also expressed that it is difficult to get objective facts from social media. Students agreed that, when it comes to information about the conflict in Israel and Palestine, the lines between media and social media seem to be blurring.
Bridging the Divide will host two more civil discourse events this semester, one on Nov. 14 from 5-6:30 p.m. and one on Dec. 4 from 12:15-1:45 p.m. Food and refreshments will be provided. For more information on discussion topics, location, and registration, go to the UW-Superior Campus Calendar at uwsuper.edu/calendar, or email link@uwsuper.edu with any questions.
