We are at a place now where every civil engagement can default into a battlezone. Neighbors are wary of each other; public interactions spark verbal or physical assaults or silent dismissiveness. One person’s belief is another’s poison. Inclusion, openness, and a sense of shared purpose wither in environments where fear, mistrust, and exclusion dominate the discourse, stifling collaboration and growth.
Three years ago, Washington College students Stephen Hook and Zach Affeldt met as Freshman and determined that while they held opposing political beliefs, they could maintain a friendship. With that dynamic in mind, the two founded PoliTalks, a student group now with eighty members whose mission is promote respectful political dialogue.
“We founded PoliTalks on the fundamental belief that students deserve a safe and respectful forum for political education and conversation,” Hook says.
Last week PoliTalks invited former state delegate and candidate of Congress Heather Mizeur to talk about setting a new course in civil engagement by connecting on a more fundamental plane: our shared humanity.
Hook and Affeldt say their decision to partner with Heather Mizeur came from an appreciation for how Heather campaigned for Congress in 2022 and her non-profit work on coalition building through community partnerships.
“Showing civility toward people we disagree with isn’t just about being nice or polite. It isn’t only about having better and more productive conversations. It is about the very survival of our cherished democracy,” Mizeur says. “PoliTalks promotes a campus culture at Washington College where honorable civic engagement is encouraged to thrive; where differing opinions are explored with curiosity and compassion; and where new solutions to our toughest challenges are found within courageous conversations. My life’s work has been dedicated to these same principles.”
Mizeur says she plans to continue her work to bridge political divisiveness with WeAreOneAlliance. Workshops for 2025 will be announced by the end of the year.
Event partners were Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, The Holstein Program in Ethics, and Phi Beta Kappa
This video is a seven-minute snapshot of the complete video available here.
