Ohio State community comes together to engage in dialogue, build relationships

Students, faculty, staff and community members gathered at the Ohio Union earlier this month to participate in Big Table discussions coordinated by The Ohio State University Office of Student Life.

Launched in 2016 by the Columbus Foundation, the Big Table is a community conversation held citywide in Columbus in which participants discuss strategies to bring about a more kind and just future for central Ohio.

“We have a couple of learning outcomes. One is that you have the opportunity to meet at least one new person,” Tracy Stuck, assistant vice president of Student Life, said to participants at the start of the session.  “Next, we’re going to share our lived experiences. And in doing so, we’re hoping to build a connected community where everyone has a place at the table.”

Ohio State’s discussion was led by Melissa Shivers, senior vice president of Student Life, and John Warner, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the Wexner Medical Center and executive vice president of the university. The event centered on the university’s Listen. Learn. Discuss. platform.

Listen. Learn. Discuss. is a set of skill-based resources designed to promote respectful listening, discussing different points of view, building trust with one another and navigating complex conversations, on and off the Ohio State campus.

“We are always so grateful when so many members of our community come out to connect with one another, to engage in conversations of import, but more importantly, to get to know other people,” Shivers said.

“We firmly believe that this particular initiative provides us an opportunity at Ohio State to join our Columbus community in thinking a lot about how we have difficult conversations and what are things that we can do as a community to build more trust and connection.”

Shivers and Warner led participants through a series of prompts designed to open dialogue on topics such as how to engage in meaningful conversation, address difficult subjects with civility and reduce social isolation. 

Warner said research has shown that at least once a week, 45% of adults encounter severe stress – increasing the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and other conditions. One of the best coping mechanisms is to learn the tools of effective communication, which is one of the objectives of the Big Table event, he said.

“These conversations are particularly important for all of us because we need to heighten our awareness around stress,” he said. “How can we be thinking differently about helping those around us to cope with those things, building an ecosystem where people feel comfortable asking for help and raising their hand? … Today is an important step in that direction.”

Shivers said another goal of the Big Table event is to encourage participants to continue to engage in positive interactions with classmates, colleagues and community members daily. The Listen. Learn. Discuss. offers resources to facilitate civil discourse.

“They provide a host of different types of materials to help in that facilitation of those conversations,” Shivers said. “It’s really important that we continue to engage throughout the year and hone our skills in that space.”

For more information about Listen. Learn. Discuss and a calendar of upcoming events, visit the program’s website.