Members of the University of Michigan community will be able to share their thoughts and opinions on pressing matters this election season in a series of open forums hosted by the Faculty Senate Office.
Titled “Political Speech and the Public Square,” the series’ overarching theme is “What’s at Stake for Me in the 2024 Election?” It will include four events on the Diag from noon-12:50 p.m. Sept. 10 and 24, and Oct. 8 and 22.
Any U-M student, staff or faculty member can register to speak on the weekly topic for two minutes. A moderator will be present to guide the rules of engagement.
Each week will focus on a different issue, with the first event, Sept. 10, focused on climate change policy.
The topics for the following three sessions will be determined by reaching out to the university community. Possible topics include foreign policy, student loans, immigration policy and protecting democracy.
The Faculty Senate Office is launching the series to “provide a forum for members of the U-M community to present informed, fact-based perspectives, and to listen to each other,” according to the FSO website.
It is supported by the Year of Democracy, Civic Empowerment, and Global Engagement, the Michigan in Washington program and the Ginsberg Center.
The FSO website says the series is “offered in the spirit of intellectual humility, to support the principles of academic freedom and to develop a campus climate comfortable with hearing different well-informed points of view, even those counter to one’s own views.”
Speaker slots are full for the Sept. 10 session on climate change policy, and registration will open soon for subsequent events. More information, and registration links when they’re ready, can be found on the Faculty Senate Office website.
