“The planning for Day of Dialogue last year did have some twists and turns,” says SDLI leader Lucy Baines ’27. Historically, Day of Dialogue has revolved around student-led workshops and discussions rooted in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB). Due to miscommunication, among other factors, the plans of SDLI ultimately ended up being discarded in favor of an alternate, faculty-created schedule for the day. To avoid this happening again, “we are being a lot more intentional about having everything done way in advance,” Baines says.
Another priority for this year’s Day of Dialogue was ensuring student involvement. “Students have meaningful ownership over the workshops they’re developing,” says SDLI Club Advisor Justin Strong.
Additionally, the SDLI leaders planned to concentrate on the human rights theme. “I feel like it’s really important to kind of take a step back and go back to the basics of human rights,” says Baines.
Oman Frame, Director of DEIB, explains an additional element to the theme. “Sometimes when you have conversations specifically on race or on gender, marginalized communities show up, but the folks that also have some skin in the game don’t. And so we wanted to make… sure that everyone could find a space for something,” says Oman Frame. He wanted the theme to be broad enough for the whole school to connect to, while still having “pockets for everything within it.”
To achieve this goal, the day was structured around three core experiences. “My hope is that these different experiences will complement one another,” Strong says. Beginning with a keynote speaker, the schedule for the day also consisted of a trip to the Center for Civil and Human Rights and opportunities to engage with specialized workshops. “What excites me about this approach is the variety of experiences it creates,” Strong says.
“I can say with confidence that this year’s Day of Dialogue will be exceptional,” Baines says. Ultimately, the students and faculty working behind the scenes aimed to facilitate not just conversations, but connections. “It’s easy to distract yourself with a topic. It’s much harder to connect with someone,” says Frame.
