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Students condemned organizers and panelists at Syracuse University’s third ​“Faculty Panel on Navigating Polarizing Discourses” Wednesday afternoon, saying the event’s description did not align with its actual content.

Students referenced the event’s description, which states that the “conflict in the Middle East continues to impact (SU’s) campus,” and that the panels are intended to explore “topics related to academic freedom and to pedagogy.” Prior to the attendees’ questioning, the panelists did not mention the Israel-Hamas war.

The Office of Academic Affairs held the panel — which featured three faculty members alongside mediator Jamie Winders, the associate provost for faculty affairs — in room 228 of the Schine Student Center. The panelists discussed how to manage difficult and relevant conversations in the classroom.

Winders structured the panel by discussing how the professors identify polarizing topics, implement them into curricula, guide the conversations and acknowledge emotions and discomfort that arise in the classroom.

“There’s strong emotional investments and many different aspects with these debates,” Winders said. “So, when you sit down to map out a course or to think about a course discussion, a potentially polarizing topic, where do you start?”

The organizers and panelists said they were expecting the attendees to be mostly faculty, but the turnout was mostly students.

Adia Santos, a graduate student studying public diplomacy and global communications, said students need to “continuously engage” with faculty about topics of concern such as the Israel-Hamas war. She said students require more faculty awareness of their concerns, calling the faculty’s approach “belittling and ridiculous.”

“I had to miss a bunch of things to be here. When, no offense, I could have missed this too, because like you said, it wasn’t catered to us in the first place,” Santos said. “So be intentional about the times that you’re holding everything because those came out of student concerns and those events were meant for students.”

Panelist Chandice Haste-Jackson, associate dean of student services and an associate teaching professor in the Falk College of Sports and Human Dynamics, said awareness of these topics begins with the professor. With awareness, professors can guide polarizing conversations in the classroom, she said.

Haste-Jackson and the other panelists emphasized the use of “pausing” during polarizing conversations, giving the students a moment to process emotions, consider other perspectives and reflect on the conversation.

“We exist to help draw out of you. We really do and find a passion in that,” Haste-Jackson said. “So sometimes when there’s that push to do more, some will slink away but others will lean in … but we don’t know unless we hear from you.”

Panelist Christy Ashby, director of the Center on Disability and Inclusion and professor of inclusive special education and disability studies, said professors identifying the end goal of a conversation and establishing a motive gives purpose to more difficult conversations.

Ashby said it is the faculty’s responsibility to be a model for students by accepting the “humility of discomfort” within these polarizing topics. When discussing multiple different viewpoints in a classroom, Ashby said she encourages her students to reflect on their perspectives as well as consider new ones.

Panelist Verena Erlenbusch-Anderson, an associate professor in the philosophy department, said it is important to design a course to ensure students are “active collaborators.” She emphasized putting students in charge of their learning as much as possible to build various pathways for discussion in the classroom.

“The goal is that we don’t just subscribe to a position because everybody says so, but because we’ve actually considered it and we’ve endorsed it as our own and that form of thinking,” Erlenbusch-Anderson said.

The organizers and panelists encouraged feedback from the student attendees regarding future actions for the university. Winders also apologized for the confusion regarding the description of the event.

“The idea that we are neutral classrooms is a fallacy,” Ashby said. “We need to help our students have skills to navigate the rest of their lives, and I think the classroom is a great way to practice.”

Published on December 7, 2023 at 1:56 am

Contact Roxanne: rmboychu@syr.edu