William & Mary, Elizabeth Miller, Williamsburg, VA
“I’ve been carrying that [incorrect] assumption into my communications with students and I can now engage differently”
Multiple universities throughout the United States currently utilize Living Room Conversations among their students and faculty. Many community organizations, (libraries, local government, non-profit organizations, and many others), also use LRCs in their programming. However, for several years William & Mary has been successfully merging the two; hosting conversations including community members and university students, staff, and faculty. The results of which have been overwhelmingly positive.
William & Mary is a mid-sized public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. The university makes up a large portion of Williamsburg, taking up three of the city’s nine square miles. While being a cutting-edge research institution, W&M students are also focused on service and engagement. Part of the W&M mission statement reads, “We come to William & Mary wanting to understand and change the world — and together we do.” Among other things, this idea of public service takes the form of community involvement.
An important supporter of this mission is the Civic & Community Engagement Office at W&M. The office is focused on building relationships between campus and community and helping students be community-centered leaders. This includes building and maintaining relationships in the broader community.
Elizabeth Miller, the associate director of this office is the driving force behind the use of LRCs in their programming. Miller explained that the use of LRC came out of wanting a model that was open access, both access to the resources themselves and access as a space for students to listen to one another, focusing on lived experiences.
The strong focus on community engagement and the major presence W&M has in Williamsburg contributed to the idea of facilitating conversations between university students/faculty and community members. These conversations are focused on bringing people of diverse relationships together. An example of such a conversation would include three current W&M students, three W&M faculty/staff members, and three community members. This mix, Miller shared, provided different generational perspectives, different employment statuses and different takes on the topic.
In reflecting on a recent Trust in Elections campus/community conversation she hosted Miller explained,
“These conversations [compared to ones with just student participants] are much richer. We heard from participants that they found it really affirming and stress relieving to hear that other people were thinking about these issues as well (people they weren’t in relationships with). The students knew they were having conversations with their friends about the election. The community members knew they were having conversations with their friends about the election. But to know that the other group was as well was really meaningful and added relief to know, “Oh we’re all thinking about it”’.
She furthered, “I really like [these conversations] because you’re getting a different perspective. It’s interesting to see at times the perceptions and misperceptions about what groups are going to believe. [Additionally], students really valued hearing from non-students about their perspectives and vice versa.”
In an effort to determine if community/campus conversations should be continued, Miller polled the William & Mary student body asking if they’d prefer to participate in a conversation with only fellow students or or with faculty/staff and community members. Students overwhelmingly preferred opportunities to engage across roles.
When asked about one of such conversations that stood out to her Miller reflected,
“We were doing a conversation and one participant who was a community member made a statement which made explicit an assumption that everyone in the room was in agreement on something. As a facilitator I said something to the extent of “I don’t know that we’re all on the same page about that. Here’s where my perspective comes in, but let me pause there to make space”. We then had a student who said “Yeah, actually I think differently about this thing. I vote differently in that way”. Those two [then] had a really meaningful back and forth. I heard from that community member afterwards saying how much they appreciated having that chance to realize, “I’ve been carrying that [incorrect] assumption into my communications with students and I can now engage differently”. [Additionally,] that student felt heard in a way they might not have before.”
Community/University conversations are only a piece of how Living Room Conversations is used by Miller and the Civic & Community Engagement Office. She explained that she sees LRC less as a singular conversation starter or program, and more as a tool to “pull out when we want people to listen to each other or engage around a topic”.
Some of the other ways LRCs have been used in their programming includes as a component of an undergraduate student conference, in the classroom, and within university departments.
In reflecting on her overall experience with Living Room Conversations Miller shared,
“I’m really struck by my past two Trust in Elections conversations. I think that having conversations in this facilitated way can be a component of wellbeing. [Both] Individual wellbeing and community wellbeing because most people who are joining the conversation are joining because it’s on a topic they have been thinking about. They have an idea or thought about it. So [in participating, they experience] relief in being able to share and be listened to and that other people are thinking about [the issue] and talking about it.”
She furthered, “LRCs give you a sense of wellbeing. I can think about and share what I want to and be listened to instead of just holding what I’m concerned about. I think it creates healthier communities when they are able to have that free expression and listening along the way. When we are able to use the model of bringing people in from different perspectives it brings a sense of connection.”
Photo credit: Elizabeth Miller
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