Senior Vice President for Student Affairs & Public Safety Ginger Ambler sent the following message to students on Aug. 27, 2024. – Ed.
Dear William & Mary Students,
One of the great benefits of being a member of a university community is the ability to engage intellectually and critically with new ideas and to expand awareness of our role in promoting democracy. Learning how to express our viewpoints, engage counter-arguments constructively, and move toward effective action is core to the William & Mary student experience. This is particularly important as we head into another election season and at a time of ongoing international conflict.
While engaging across difference can be uncomfortable, there are tools and guiding principles to help when we encounter speech that unsettles us. The Aspen Institute’s Better Arguments framework highlights such principles, noting, “American civic life doesn’t need fewer arguments, it needs better arguments.” At W&M we have chosen to embrace the principles of a better argument to give us a common language and healthy strategies for responding to conflict and disagreement:
- Take winning off the table.
Lead with a desire to understand and learn. - Prioritize relationships & listen passionately.
Fous on building honest connections. - Pay attention to context.
Acknowledge the many factors that may influence beliefs. - Embrace vulnerability.
Consider the benefits of opening up. - Make room to transform.
Be open to new and varied perspectives.
Responses to speech with which we disagree can include engaging in constructive dialogue with those holding oppositional views, organizing counter-programming that publicly presents a different perspective, or simply ignoring speech that we find objectionable. Civic dialogue and engagement are learned skills, ones you will explore in your classrooms, student organizations, living environments and service commitments.
W&M’s policies help ensure that community members are free to express their opinions while safety is maintained and the university’s core activities of teaching and learning continue. Last year, students told us it would be helpful for all relevant policies to be pulled together in one place for easy reference. We took that request to heart and have created a new resources website to do just that — it is the first link included below.
We offer a wealth of other resources and opportunities to learn how to become more effectively engaged, and be able to confront ideas, not people:
- Guidelines for Facilities Use(collected policies for events, programs, and expressive activities)
- Civic & Community Engagement
- Community Values & Connection
- Student Unions and Engagement
- Student Leadership Development
- Self-Governance in Residence Halls
- W&M Democracy Initiative
I hope you’ll make use of these resources. Skills in democratic engagement that you develop at William & Mary will strengthen your relationships with each other, distinguish you as a candidate for internships and employment, and amplify your impact in the world for years to come.
Best regards,
Ginger Ambler