The School of the Arts and Communication held a presidential debate watch party on Sept. 10 as the kickoff event to its Communication for the Common Good Series.
There was a discussion between students, School of the Arts and Communication Dean Pamela Barnett and Assistant Professor of Political Science Sara Morell prior to the presidential debate. The faculty opened the floor to students to discuss their experiences and feelings about discussing politics during such a divisive era.
“I thought the students asked a lot of really wonderful questions,” Morell said. “It was super clear that they were engaged and interested; both in providing their own perspectives and examples and also in asking questions about what political science and communications can tell us about how people receive information and how they talk to each other.”
The idea for the Communication for the Common Good Series came from Barnett’s concerns about the current extreme political polarization in the U.S. and how it’s affected the way people speak to one another when it comes to political conversations.
“I think as a school of arts and communication we really have a responsibility to help people do better. How can we help people have more informed and respectful debates?” Barnett said.
Barnett plans to add more events to this series, which she hopes will create a space where students feel comfortable sharing their opinions and to learn how to properly debate even outside of TCNJ.
“I would love for people to take away that it’s okay to have conflict and to disagree passionately. But we should not engage in what I call the ‘four violences’: attack, shame, guilt, and dismissal,” Barnett said.
The next event in the Communication for The Common Good Series will feature Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at NYU and author of PressThink. Rosen will speak on “The Case for Pro-Democracy Election Coverage” on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 4 pm in Mayo Concert Hall.
– Ashley Peng ’25 and Kaitlin Bavaro ’25