The Deliberative Dialogue on Safety and Justice held on Constitution Day connected students and faculty through small group discussions on how communities should approach violence. The event was organized by staff from the Center for Community and the Office of the Provost (Udeshi Seneviratne/photo editor).
In celebration of Constitution Day, the college held a “deliberative dialogue” on Monday Sept. 17 in the MacVittie College Union ballroom to discuss how communities should approach reducing violence.
The event was convened by Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Stacey Robertson and facilitated by Interim Director of Leadership and Service Nicholas Palumbo and Coordinator of Student Volunteerism and Community Engagement Garth Freeman.
Freeman began the event by introducing Robertson who thanked the audience for attending and underscored the importance of Constitution Day from her perspective as a trained historian.
“I, more than most people, understand how important Constitution Day is in recognizing that [the Constitution] is a living document that gets interpreted and reinterpreted throughout the years,” Robertson said. “Knowing the history and understanding the importance of this document in relation to our daily lives is very important.”
Robertson also tied the importance of Constitution Day with the duties of an average Geneseo student.
“At SUNY Geneseo, we have a series of values that we take very seriously. One of those values is civic responsibility and that’s the way in which Constitution Day intersects with our values,” Robertson said. “We believe that each one of us on this campus has an incredible commitment to engage in ethical ways, both at a global and local level, with civic responsibility.”
Groups of students and faculty members sat at five round tables with eight seats per table while Freeman presented a PowerPoint on how communities could decrease violence in a society. He highlighted three options and played a video discussing the benefits and drawbacks of each one.
After each initiative was introduced, Freeman asked the groups to reflect on their own experiences. The first initiative stated that police and communities should work together more closely to reduce crime. Communication major junior Ousmane Sam, an audience member, publicly highlighted the value of such a reform.
“I know that for me, I kind of just see police in New York City where I’m from,” Sam said. “You don’t really pay mind to them and try to avoid them. But then again, in the summertime they do community events and that’s usually when the neighborhood is a little more lively. You see students and little kids running around and jumping in bouncy houses and I think that it’s a good first step toward creating a sense of community.”
The second option emphasized bias training that could limit pre-emptive stops and reduce the number of arrests for minor offenses. Students explored the drawbacks associated with this option and considered how police affect their own communities.
The last initiative focused on mental health and its association with higher levels of violence. Students and faculty shared their opinions and discussed different policies that could be implemented to support these efforts.
The event qualified as credit for the Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development program. Freeman and Palumbo concluded the event by tying the purpose of the event with Robertson’s introductory remarks: the civic responsibility of each Geneseo student.