Dialogue Day, a newly launched series at Fordham Law, provides a forum for open conversations among the Law School’s students, faculty, staff, and administration. The goal is for the Fordham Law community to gather and discuss important issues that impact not only the Law School, but the nation as well.
“The idea is to create a space for community discussion of important issues related to social justice,” said Dean Matthew Diller during his opening remarks on the Nov. 4 Zoom meeting. “The discussions will be informative and participatory, and will create a nonpartisan, civil, and respectful forum for different views and perspectives to be shared so that we can all learn together.”
The inaugural Dialogue Day centered on the 2020 U.S. presidential election, including a discussion of voter turnout, voter suppression, and the country’s political landscape. Though the results of the presidential contest remained in question, Dialogue Day represented an opportunity for members of the Law School community to share their viewpoints as the election unfolded in real time. This, as pointed out by Dean Diller, allowed attendees to collectively process what they were all going through, express their feelings, and list their key takeaways from the election.
After a number of students, staff, and professors spoke, one theme was evidently clear throughout the conversation: reaching out and supporting one another.
“There are many ways to do good and there are ways to help people. If you can’t see opportunities to make progress in the grand scheme at the moment, you can make progress on the micro level too—with people in your lives, in your community, and within our School, as so many of you do,” said Diller. “All of us, in our own web of interpersonal relations and connections, can make a difference.”
Kimathi Gordon-Somers, assistant dean of student affairs and diversity, echoed Diller’s sentiment, adding how critical it is to have open communication and open-mindedness. “I believe that we work better as a society when we engage with one another—but more importantly when we engage in honest and respectful discourse about issues that matter,” Gordon-Somers said. “I think that’s when it really works.”
The next Dialogue Day will take place during the spring 2021 semester.