Luke Dunlap, Special to The Denisonian


Due to the recent actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), immigration has become an even hotter topic in the U.S. 

Dialogue surrounding immigration  has become polarized to a degree that  many people, including students, may chose to avoid the topic altogether. BridgeDenison is  hoping to change that. 

On Feb. 9, roughly a dozen students gathered in the lecture theatre in the basement of  Burton Morgan to discuss immigration. The event was hosted by BridgeDenison, a student-run  organization that provides a space on campus for lightly-moderated, nonpartisan dialogue. 

As attendees lined up for catered Chinese food, Taylor Reyes ‘29 introduced BridgeDenison and the topic for the evening: current U.S. immigration policy. Taylor then  gave a brief bullet-point history of US immigration policy before dividing attendees into small groups to discuss a list of selected questions on the topic.

For about half an hour, each group discussed immigration among themselves. The  conversations were casual as attendees munched on Chinese food, reminiscent of a family dinner table conversation. 

At the end of the event, Taylor brought everyone back together to share what their  group had talked about. It was clear that each group’s discussion went in a different direction and arrived at different insights. 

This was the first political discussion hosted by BridgeDenison this semester, and  their seventh discussion at Denison. Although they’re a relatively new organization, they’ve had a number of students participate in their events, with  last semester drawing over 100 participants total. 

BridgeDenison was founded at the beginning of last semester by Kieran Athy ‘27 and  Lily-Ann Smith ‘27 as a chapter of BridgeUSA, a nonprofit organization which has 125 chapters in  colleges across the country. 

“Bridge is a nonpartisan org, and it promotes politics on all sides of the spectrum. Our  conversations are meant to promote both sides and also differences within political parties.”   Smith said.

On its website, BridgeUSA states its purpose is to “empower young people to engage in constructive dialogue and disagreement to improve the quality of politics” to create a “thriving  U.S. democracy.” 

“The goal of BridgeUSA is not to change minds or create centrists,” the website reads,  “but [to] encourage students to engage differing beliefs, experiences and perspectives. What unites us is not agreement on policies, but a shared mindset.” A mindset of  “understanding,  empathy, open-mindedness and a willingness to engage those who are different from us.”

BridgeUSA trains local chapters to abide by certain rules for moderation and four simple  norms to keep conversations civil, which include emphasizing listening, avoiding interrupting and personal remarks, and individual representation.

“Because our topics are mostly political for Bridge, we have to moderate them. Political  topics can get heated; we want to make sure everyone can be heard, and people’s voices aren’t  silenced,” Smith said. 

This is especially true with hot topics such as immigration. In fact, some people on the executive board were worried that immigration would be too hard to moderate. Smith was not one of  them. 

“I decided to step up and was like, ‘I think this is important and I’m willing to take the  risks in order to host an event like this.’ [Immigration] is a big topic we’d been wanting to talk  about, and this was last semester, even before the political things that have happened recently.  Immigration is even more important now.”

Athy also believes that having these conversations, despite the risks, is vital. 

“I think a big part of going to college and everything going on in the world right now, is  that people feel very apathetic and powerless, and I think this [event] is a small thing where you  get people who feel like they’re doing something through just talking about it,” Athy said. 

“It’s nice knowing that there are other people who have opinions on an issue, whether  you disagree or agree with them. And it’s just a way to talk about issues that maybe don’t come  up enough.” 

Owen O’Basuyi ‘27, one of the attendees of the event, echoed these sentiments. 

“I came by because I like immigration as a topic [and] I like hearing my opinions being  engaged in to some degree,” O’Basuyi said. “One of the issues [with] topics such as these is that when you’re learning about them by  yourself, it can become very boring. But when you’re having a conversation with someone and  they get to spread their knowledge to you, especially if they’re more educated than you, that’s a  very valuable experience.” 

Smith encourages all students to participate in BridgeDenison  events, even if students are cautious about political discussion.

“If you’re scared of showing up to events like this, know that  they are moderated, and they’re moderated by students,” Smith said. “It’s not like there’s a position of  authority in the room. We know how to rein in discussions so that they’re safe and comfortable.” 

BridgeDenison’s next event is still in the works, so Smith said students who are interested should keep an eye out for updates on WhattoDU. 

“It’s really a space for everybody,” Smith said. “It’s a space for everyone’s voice to be heard.”