Real Talk on The Bluff

IN LATE NOVEMBER, I invited a group of students to join me for a meal and a candid conversation about contemporary masculinity. The event was co-sponsored by Campus Ministry and Student Affairs, and the discussion took us in a number of surprising directions. The students didn’t always agree, but I was impressed by their willingness to express the many expectations and pressures they felt. We unpacked this knotty subject with vulnerability, honesty, and trust. It was a rich discussion that left me feeling inspired.

And I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. On the way out the door, one young man shook my hand and said it had been one of the most engaging conversations he’d had in a long time.

The experience affirmed what I’ve long known to be true, namely, that University of Portland is a place where dialogue is valued. We don’t avoid hard conversations or difficult topics—we go right at them.

Our Holy Cross mission and our commitment to the Catholic intellectual tradition compel us to build community and listen to one another, whether we agree or disagree. The recent election inspired us to redouble our efforts to foster open conversations and support our students. Professor Anne Santiago serves as our inaugural Dundon-Berchtold Faculty Fellow for Constructive Dialogue, creating opportunities for Pilots to express views, agree and disagree with one another, and make sense of the political landscape. Our VoteUP initiatives once again resulted in UP earning national recognition for engagement and voter turnout. We’re also planning to take this commitment to dialogue on the road, with a series of conversations taking place in cities across the country. (More details soon!)

I hope that, like me, you are heartened to see our commitment to open dialogue—precisely when our world needs it most.