This year’s Denver mayoral race is packed with candidates. This is also the first year since 2011 that a new mayor will take office.
As candidates push their various platforms, the Metropolitan State University of Denver Dialogues Program will host the first-ever Dialogue and Civic Engagement Week to ask Roadrunners what they think the new mayor’s priorities should be. Dialogue and Civic Engagement Week will include events where Roadrunners can discuss and reflect on the issues they feel the incoming mayor should prioritize, such as housing and homelessness, public transportation, the proposed development of the Park Hill Golf course and more.
The new initiative also marks the program’s decision to shift to a focused event day or week each semester, rather than hosting periodic dialogue events throughout the year.
“Anticipating the Denver mayoral race, the Dialogues Program team discussed creating specific programming that could engage the campus community in conversations that relate to our local politics of the moment,” said Elise Krumholz, assistant director of Restorative Justice and Student Conflict Resolution. “We don’t often get to engage in meaningful conversation with each other. Dialogue’s purpose goes beyond just talking on a surface level but really pushes participants to understand each other more deeply — elevating personal experience and wisdom, storytelling and connection.”
The group engaged partners from the Debate Program and civic-engagement area to envision the new program dynamic. While the structure of the week was largely informed by staff and faculty members, students in the COMM 3000 Diversity & Communication in the U.S. course taught by Christina Foust, Ph.D., professor of Communication Studies, and Dialogues Program student employees have been heavily involved.
Dialogue and Civic Engagement Week sessions are open to all students and faculty and staff members. To get involved in the Dialogues Program, connect with the faculty and staff leads.
Faculty members can support Dialogue and Civic Engagement Week by:
- Spreading the word in their classes.
- Offering extra credit to students who participate.
- Incorporating events and activities into their assignments and class discussions.
Visit the website for more details and to RSVP for events, including:
March 27
The Denver Mayor’s Race and Community Priorities
3-5 p.m.
March 28
The Notion of Civility
3-5 p.m.
March 29
Debating the Mayor’s Agenda: Student Perspectives
3-5 p.m.
Student teams from the Denver Urban Debate League, the Diversity & Communication in the U.S. Communications course and the Leftist Book Club will engage in debate.
March 30
Pop Culture, Social Identities and Dialogue
12:30-1:45 p.m.
Land Use and Local Democracy
3-5 p.m.
March 31
Dialogue and Civic Engagement Week Happy Hour at Tivoli Brewery
3-5 p.m.
Visit the Dialogues Program website for more information.
The week’s events are co-sponsored by The Dialogues Program, the MSU Denver Debate Team and Community & Civic Engagement. The Dialogues Program is a partnership between the Department of Communication Studies and the Dean of Students Office.