UT students reach across the aisle in an era of deep division

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- As tempers flare over President Trump's flurry of executive actions and the Democratic Party's response, some University of Texas students are coming together to bridge partisan divides.

The student organization Bridge Texas is bringing people together to debate the news of the day, as Atidna, another student organization, does the same for supporters of Israel and Palestinians.

Both organizations have emerged against a backdrop of divisive politics and deep polarization throughout the country. Sixty-four percent of Republicans and 75% of Democrats described the other party as "closed-minded" according to a 2019 Pew Research study.

College campuses have also felt the heat, with student protests over the Israel-Hamas War reaching a boiling point last spring. Twenty-nine percent of students found it sometimes or always acceptable to remove campus ads and posters for a speaker they disagreed with, according to a 2020 study from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Another 27% said it was sometimes or always acceptable to shout down a speaker.

Professor Larry Schooler, an assistant professor of practice of communication studies at UT, says the current environment is stifling conversations about politics for both students and faculty.

"A student may not know the kind of people that are in class with them," he said. "They say something [and] maybe the student's classmate doesn't react in the moment, but they post on social media, and it goes viral, and they become a target of some kind."

He says the uncertainty and the ugly encounters that have happened pushed many students away from discussion completely.

Bridge USA promotes cross-party dialogue

Despite the current moment, the students of Bridge USA are coming together to have lively discussions about politics. The organization has a three-pillared mission: "viewpoint diversity, instructive dialogue and aiming for a solution-oriented political culture."

Allison Eng is the president of the UT chapter of Bridge USA, Bridge Texas. It's one of two chapters the organization has in the Austin area; the other is at St. Edward's University.

"We're kind of in a negative media environment. Usually the loudest voices, unfortunately, are what gain traction," she said. "It can appear that we're more divided than we actually are."

Bridge Texas held a discussion on the nature of executive power in light of Trump's various executive orders on March 5. A small group of students gathered around a rectangular table in a reserved room in one of UT’s student unions for the discussion.

Abhjith Valluru, a freshman government major, participated in the discussion.

"The entire point of having someone who can sit there and make a decision now is the difference between a bunch of Roman senators squabbling about what to do about the 'barbarians' at their front door and the emperor saying, 'OK, go take my army and deal with them,'" he said.

Valluru spoke highly of Bridge Texas' impact on him so far.

"It allows me to develop my own thoughts about certain things by being able to express them," he said.

Another participant, second year economics major Zachary Chen, thought the space Bridge Texas provides was important in today's climate.

"In today’s day and age where politics itself is a very touchy subject, to be able to come here and express our point of views, I think it's a benefit," he said.

Eng said Bridge Texas' participants are representative of UT's student body, which she says skews left, but she's also proud of her membership.

"They’re all pretty independent-minded," she said.

Students in Atidna seek civil discussions on Israel-Palestine

Atidna International has a narrower mandate — to bridge the divides between students over Israel/Palestinian conflicts. The organization was founded at UT and has grown to over 10 chapters across the country.

Founder and UT student Elijah Kahlenberg, who is Jewish, has also lived in the West Bank, where he said he witnessed the hardships Palestinians face firsthand. He also says his conversations with Palestinians and Palestinian Americans inspired his organization.

"If our two peoples can simply meet, sit down, and have a conversation, then more people can have this transformation that were more similar than different," he said.

On March 6, Atidna held a discussion on the documentary "No Other Land" which depicts the destruction of Palestinian villages by Israel Defense Forces soldiers on the West Bank. The film won the Oscar for Best Documentary, but was met with mixed responses from Israelis, Palestinians and their respective supporters abroad. Some on both sides have even called for boycotts.

Jadd Hashem is Palestinian American and co-president of Atidna. He has family who still live in parts of the West Bank and criticized the calls for a boycott.

"I think a lot of the criticism is just absurd," he said. "I saw the film very early on. I think it's very well done... Most Palestinians that I speak to have no issues. They were very happy that it won."

Devon Schwartz comes from a family with both Muslim and Jewish heritage. He also supported the film, and argued the criticism came more from abroad than from those experiencing the conflict firsthand.

"You’re far away. You think, 'Why are they normalizing? They shouldn't normalize. We need to stand strong,'" he said. "But people over here aren't in the heat of the battle."

Others challenged his point during the discussion.

A freshman of Israeli and Lebanese heritage, who requested we not use her name, appeared satisfied with her first discussion.

"We had people who may or may not have completely agreed with each other," she said. "Nonetheless, we were able to have a conversation that was productive, respectful, and that is just so important."

Hashem said these dialogues are hard to have, but he believes one day they could help improve the lives of Palestinians.

"Growing up, this idea of doing dialogue would have been very difficult because it's something to where not only is it scary but at some points it even feels like treason," he said. "[What] I realized is that I would be doing a disservice not having this dialogue."

Can these students really make a difference?

Schooler says it's important that Atidna is providing a dedicated space for a subject that's difficult for many students.

"You're also sort of allowing people to opt in or opt out," he said. "You're not saying in every classroom that you walk into you have to discuss this conflict."

Joe Cutbirth is an assistant professor of instruction in communication studies at UT. He said there's virtually unlimited benefits to students taking initiative through organizations like Bridge Texas and Atidna.

"Nothing is more fundamental to the culture of a university or academic space than discussing, talking to, meeting people who may have a different lived experience than your own," he said. "Being in those environments and being willing to grow is really the exciting part about being an adult in a free society."

Schooler agrees.

"The student's capacity is as great, if not greater, than what a faculty member might have," he said. "If I'm a student, I'm much more likely to open up to another student than I would to a faculty member."

Schooler said that while research in this area is limited, some anecdotal evidence shows that organizations like these can help reduce polarization in participants.

The Braver Angels Foundation, which does similar work to Bridge USA, published its own research that found partnering up students of different perspectives in conversation had moderate benefits in reducing partisanship.

Another organization, the Unify America Challenge, didn't conduct a formal study. Instead, it examined student reflections from an activity and found that students became more comfortable with political discourse after participating.

Schooler says that a student-led approach can be effective – unless students are looking for university administrators to take action. He cited the student activism against Israel last spring as an example where change was minimal without administrators at the table.

"In an ideal circumstance, students would figure out a way to at least consult with a university or with administrators," he said. "They could sort of think through what some possible outcomes of this might be."

Schwartz said changing the campus culture may also be limited by the willingness of partisans to participate. He said he doesn't think Atidna is changing minds with the major activist groups on campus because they're not willing to have tough conversations about extremists on each side. However, he said he does think Atidna has made a difference in broader Jewish and Muslim faith groups around campus.

"I have to focus on the organizations that I think I really can change." he said.

Kalenburg said the conversations that organizations like his have could offer lessons for everyone.

"If people can see us, Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, sitting down and having a conversation about arguably the most polarizing topic of our generation, Israel-Palestine, [then] Democrats, Republicans, anyone who's divided on an issue can come together and hash out their differences," he said. "The person they're speaking to probably has much more in common than they otherwise would expect."

Eng echoed that sentiment based on her time with Bridge Texas.

"It's just really heartwarming, I think, to see that we shouldn't let these political divisions define us," she said. "Perhaps we have more in common at the end of the day."