Eight students selected for Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Partnership

Students learn how to facilitate conversations amid political, societal differences

By California State University, Bakersfield

November 22^nd, 2022

Eight students from California State University, Bakersfield have been selected to participate in the Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Partnership (ICDP) for the 2022-23 academic year.

The ICDP is a consortium of five colleges and universities in the U.S: CSUB and Stanford University in California, Harvard University in Massachusetts, St. Philip’s College in Texas and Santa Fe College in Florida.

The students representing CSUB this academic year are: Nancy Aguilar, Carmen Garcia, Dylan Jones, Narges Obaid, Abigail Rodela, Taylor Thomas, Carmen Tomshack-Vasquez and Raymond Umeh. Each of the fellows receive a $1,000 honorarium for their year-long participation in the program.

“This year’s cohort of CSUB student fellows is a wonderfully diverse group. Diversity that is not only seen across major, but a diversity in life experience that has shaped their political identities,” said Ryan Fergon, student programs specialist for the Kegley Institute of Ethics. “These actively engaged students are learning to be stewards of quality dialogue across political divides both on campus and in their communities; and its truly inspiring thing to see given our current political climate.”

Student fellows were selected from a competitive application pool. They come from diverse backgrounds and are committed to connecting with students from across the U.S. to combat political polarization.

As part of the program, ICDP fellows will learn to facilitate challenging conversations on pressing issues in our society, such as racism and gun violence, while acknowledging the multitude of opinions and experiences that inform people’s positions on these topics.

They will receive training, engage in conversations within the fellows group, and have opportunities to interact with speakers, students and faculty from different universities over the academic year.