How do you talk about a contested policy issue without feeling like you have to defend your own side or disown the other? The La Follette School of Public Affairs is giving students a place to practice. 

La Follette’s Dinner and Dialogue Series: Big Issues, Bold Conversations brings students together over dinner for student-led discussions on difficult public policy questions. The sessions are facilitated by students in La Follette’s PA 200 Contemporary Public Policy Issues class, but participants from any major or background are welcome. 

“We want students to have confidence and comfort in talking about different perspectives,” said Kathleen Doherty, the La Follette instructor who teaches PA 200 and created the series. “They should be able to talk about ideas without feeling like they need to disown them. They should be comfortable with conflict and see the importance of equitable participation.” 

The first session, which was held on October 27, addressed housing affordability. It drew students majoring in business, genetics, political science, education, and other fields. 

The event consisted of four parts: dinner, a review of case studies, a structured academic controversy, and a closing reflection. Both the case study review and structured academic controversy were built around giving every student a voice and widening the range of viewpoints in the room. In the provided case studies, students take on stakeholder roles and work through a real-world scenario of a community facing a complex problem with no easy answers. In the structured academic controversy, they use selected readings to examine competing positions and engage with the strongest version of each argument. 

For student facilitator Malin Staloch’s group, the challenge came quickly. The members mostly agreed on the case studies when the evening started. Then each participant was assigned a role to defend: city council member, merchant association representative, rights advocate, or public health worker. After that, agreeing got harder. 

“Many of these questions don’t have clear answers,” Staloch said. “We are each breaking down complex housing issues into stakeholder parts.” 

“If you make judgments or decisions without accounting for multiple factors, it’s not a full picture of those impacted,” said Noah Hanculak, another student facilitator. 

“Is there a way to find a good middle ground between all of these different groups?” student facilitator Colin Burns asked his table of participants. 

These students are working through the same questions policymakers face every day, but in a setting built for curiosity rather than combat. 

In closing reflections, students said the most useful part was seeing how their own backgrounds shaped their views. 

“We all come with very different backgrounds, which really affected the way we viewed stances on homelessness and housing,” participant Talia Becker said. “It was great to hear from people from all different backgrounds. It helped identify our own biases based on our experiences and go beyond the page to understand each other.” 

For Staloch, the roles made the difference. 

“Being put in the position to defend a belief you maybe didn’t necessarily have helps you understand how other people feel about certain situations,” Staloch said. “This whole practice allowed us to open up and see other perspectives more.” 

The next event in the series will take place on November 11 at 6 p.m. with a session on AI technology & social media at Gordon Commons. UW–Madison students are encouraged to sign up online. The series is sponsored by UW–Madison’s Wisconsin Exchange program and the La Follette School of Public Affairs. For more information, contact Kathleen Doherty at kedoherty@wisc.edu. 

– Story by Outreach Assistant Ana Massoglia