Cupola Conversations - Sept. 8th

This summer was one of unexpected change filled with judicial and legislative activity. There were Supreme Court opinions followed by landmark decisions on topics that ranged from climate change to reproductive rights which has prompted a shift in the political landscape.

Many in our community, including our students, struggled to process these actions, or turned to social media where conversations were oftentimes disturbing, targeted, and aggressive. Since its creation in 2016, ECUnited seeks to bring people together and have constructive, engaging civil dialogue about polarizing and challenging topics.

Cupola Conversations is an award-winning program at ECU which has been very successful at creating a safe space for discord and discourse to occur in a civil manner. Past topics have included gun violence, DACA, racism and violence, state/national elections and cultural conflicts associated with the Asian community and Muslim communities.

The Division of Student Affairs will host the next scheduled Cupola Conversations for the Fall 2022 semester with a special focus on the SCOTUS decisions, legislative actions, and the current impacts on our institution and across the country.

This program, “Summer of Change: Exploring Legislative Impacts on Students, Staff and Faculty,” will be held on Thursday, September 8, 2022, at 5pm on Microsoft Teams.

This Cupola Conversation is not about choosing sides on specific legislative topics, but rather to look critically at how we proceed forward with a type of healthy disagreement. Part of living in a diverse community means learning to respect and appreciate varying perspectives.

As in previous years, Cupola Conversations will feature a panel of ECU students, faculty, staff, and community members to address these questions and many others.

The panelists are:

Dr. Michael Delafield, attorney for the UNC System
Dr. Hugh Lee, interim Associate Dean of Student Affairs of Brody School of Medicine, and ECU Faculty Member
Aisha Powell, Chair of the Staff Senate, and Assistant Director of ECU College of Business Advising Center
Emily Yates, SGA Vice President

Click here on September 8 at 5pm to join the conversation.

This Cupola Conversations program is open to the entire campus as well as the public, and we encourage all who are committed to creating positive change and leading conversations through civil discourse to be a part of this important event. Participants will be able to type in questions as part of the conversation (Note: Not all questions and comments will be included in the program).

Cupola Conversations is a program developed by the Division of Student Affairs in Fall 2016 intended to create informal opportunities for the university community to engage in constructive dialogue about various topics, some of which may be high interest.