Projects assist students in ‘constructing connections’ across various perspectives

Backed by the President’s Building Bridges Fund — an initiative launched last autumn in response to the initial recommendations of the Presidential Task Forces — four student collectives commenced projects this spring to nurture constructive dialogue and cultivate connections across differences. These initiatives form a component of a broader, University-wide mission to endorse conversation across differences.

The student coordinators — from Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and the Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences — adopted diverse methods to involve peers in significant talks on challenging subjects and devise structures for fruitful discussions.

“When we initiated the fund, we aspired to attract pilot projects that would ignite profound and significant conversations across campus,” stated President Alan M. Garber. “We aim to ensure that every voice is acknowledged at Harvard, and this inaugural round of initiatives, spearheaded by capable student leaders, provided opportunities for community members not only to partake in constructive dialogue but also to hone skills that will benefit them in many future interactions.”

Receiving funding in February to launch projects by the academic year’s conclusion, the students swiftly organized speakers, arranged logistics, and collaborated with faculty and staff for support and direction.

Here is a closer examination of the projects accomplished thus far.

The Policy Bridges Project

The concept for the project emerged from discussions within the Harvard Griffin GSAS Science Policy Group. The group was seeking a means to facilitate substantive policy dialogues and insights on contentious issues that require intervention. Upon the announcement of the Building Bridges funding, they recognized an opportunity to involve fellow students in these discussions with the aim of discovering pathways forward.

The Ph.D. student coordinators Arya Kaul (bioinformatics and integrative genomics), Lissah Johnson (biological sciences in public health), and Mia Sievers (biological and biomedical sciences) orchestrated two events: a Climate Policy Fireside Chat and a Technology Policy Panel. Both events featured invited external speakers sharing their insights and expertise, while allowing time for dialogue and informal conversations during post-event gatherings.

The Climate Policy Fireside Chat showcased Undersecretary Katherine Antos from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. The conversation centered on advancing climate policy by pinpointing shared values among groups with differing viewpoints.

“We realized that it is feasible to make strides on climate issues when you seek common values,” noted Kaul. “Building alliances with groups that hold opposing views is attainable when you grasp what matters to them.”

The Technology Policy Panel included panelists Bruce Schneier, lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and a fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, along with Will Rinehart, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and expert in the Federalist Society’s Emerging Technology Working Group. The panel’s highlight was a discussion on “polarity thinking” with moderator Betsy Miller.

“Having a common language and framework for stimulating discussions like these is immensely beneficial,” said Miller, lecturer on law at Harvard Law School. “Polarities refer to oppositions where the strengths of both are essential over time for success. They shift our perspective from ‘either/or’ binary reasoning to a ‘both/and’ approach. It’s an impactful tool for engaging across differences and facilitating difficult conversations with curiosity and respect.”

With two events concluded, the aim is to continue hosting dialogues on a range of policy subjects.

“We would love to cover various domains, such as healthcare policy, to identify shared values that propel us forward,” said Johnson. “And using the polarity-thinking approach, we can tackle those challenging conversations productively.”

Tango Project

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Through the President’s Building Bridges Fund grant initiative, Lucas Woodley, a Ph.D. candidate in psychology at Griffin GSAS, who collaborates closely with Psychology Professor Joshua Greene in his laboratory, identified a chance for a significant rollout of Tango at Harvard. This online game, developed in the laboratory over the past five years, fosters openness, respect, and connections across divides through a collaborative online quiz format. Here’s how it functions:

• Scheduled online sessions last 20 minutes and are set for a specific date and time.
• At the appointed time, players log in and are matched with an anonymous partner.
• Together, the student pairs respond to quiz inquiries covering topics from pop culture to Harvard’s history to politically sensitive issues.

Funding from the President’s Building Bridges Fund enabled Woodley, in partnership with Greene, to orchestrate an event throughout the Harvard community with incentives for involvement. The victorious pair received tickets for the Celtics playoffs, and the winning House earned $1,000 for their activity fund.

Students participating self-identified across a spectrum of liberal to conservative ideologies. They were randomly matched with partners, frequently engaging with individuals holding different perspectives. The game aims to assist individuals with opposing worldviews in cultivating trust and respect for one another. “What we observe is that students derive immense enjoyment from playing the game,” Woodley said, highlighting that half of the participants awarded Tango a perfect 10 out of 10 for enjoyment. “Simultaneously, they learn how to discuss really challenging subjects with others.”

Greene and Woodley have recently published the findings from the Tango study in Nature Human Behavior. “The findings from the Tango event at Harvard demonstrated that after participation, students who were involved in Harvard College grant initiatives showed a marked increase in their desire to engage with peers holding different perspectives and felt notably more at ease expressing controversial opinions on campus,” Greene stated.

Greene and Woodley aspire for Tango to be utilized routinely during occasions when large groups of students convene at Harvard, such as during freshman orientation.

Hate & Remediation: Where Does Harvard Proceed from Here?

The initiative organized by students at Harvard Law School aimed at igniting conversations among students with differing cultural and religious backgrounds. Acknowledging the necessity for a space to unite students to converse about pressing campus issues, the Jewish and Muslim student organizers facilitated a discussion evaluating the essence of hate and methods to address it constructively on campus.

The panel discussion featured Noah Feldman, Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, chair of the Society of Fellows, and founding director of the Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law at Harvard Law School, along with Randall Kennedy, Michael R. Klein Professor at Harvard Law School. Given the anticipated release of the final reports from the Presidential Task Forces on Antisemitism, Anti-Israeli Bias, and Anti-Muslim, Anti-Arab, and Anti-Palestinian Bias, they framed the discussion as a chance for students to consider beyond the conventional legal solutions and to ponder how they as a collective could advance.

Over 100 students engaged in the lecture and subsequent discussion. “We made a significant effort to create an atmosphere where individuals felt at ease and included,” remarked Omar Tariq, a second-year law student. “We had participants representing a wide variety of political, religious, and cultural backgrounds. Students conveyed their desire for more substantial conversations about the challenges we face on campus and expressed gratitude for our event.”

The event centered on three objectives: cultivating relationships across varied affinity groups; opposing discrimination, bullying, harassment, or hatred; and nurturing constructive dialogue. Participants felt they accomplished these aims given the attendance, discussions, and feedback received afterward. The strong connections forged during the planning process lay a solid groundwork for future initiatives and collaborations, they noted.

“This event served as an excellent opportunity for individuals with differing beliefs and opinions to unite with the hope of improving campus life. We examined how, despite our potential disagreements, we can still collaborate to enhance conditions for everyone on campus,” stated Shanee Markovitz Kay, a second-year law student. “When there’s a shared positive objective, it opens up a multitude of possibilities for positive outcomes.”

Remaining Questions

Upon the announcement of the President’s Building Bridges Fund, Harvard College students Irati Evworo Diez ’25, Noa Horowitz ’25, and Ari Kohn ’26 recognized it as not only a chance to connect a diverse assortment of their peers but also as a means to leverage the intellect and proficiency of their professors. Following a competitive application process that attracted considerable interest, students were chosen to participate in a series of dinner discussions. The project organizers intentionally selected students from varied backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives to ignite meaningful, serious, and challenging dialogues about issues impacting Harvard and the globe.

“At times, initiating these types of discussions within the classroom can be challenging for various reasons,” explained Evworo Diez. “We aimed to provide students with the opportunity to tackle these tough topics in an intimate environment with a selected group willing to engage deeply.”

The general format of the dinners involved Harvard faculty and other experts attending, sharing their insights or viewpoints on a topic, followed by students engaging in dialogue and debate. It was intended to embody the essence of a Harvard seminar’s depth and rigor but in a more intimate and relaxed setting. The subjects varied from economics to campus life to gender and much more. The responses were overwhelmingly positive.

“As student organizers, we were grateful that President Garber initiated the fund, enabling us to provide this experience to students and help shift the campus culture towards constructive dialogue across differences,” said Evworo Diez. “Some attendees remarked that it was one of the most significant experiences they’d had at Harvard.”

The aspiration is for the dinner series to either continue or expand into a GenEd class, granting more students the opportunity to engage in this kind of experience.

“This dinner series rekindled my trust in Harvard’s potential to pursue this effort,” shared Evworo Diez. “The current media depiction of Harvard starkly contrasts what is genuinely occurring here. There is a wealth of diversity in the perspectives our students contribute — shaped by their backgrounds, faith, culture, political beliefs, and life experiences. Both students and faculty expressed appreciation for being encouraged to have these difficult conversations and were ready to participate.”

“Complete inclusion and belonging do not occur by mere chance; they emerge from intentional acts of bravery, inquisitiveness, and empathy,” stated Sherri Charleston, chief community and campus life officer. “The Building Bridges grantees have demonstrated that true excellence arises not from the absence of differences, but through their acceptance. Their initiatives remind us that when we create environments for respectful discourse, we are not merely exchanging ideas; collectively, we are laying the groundwork for a Harvard where everyone can flourish.”