Community Dialogues
Community Dialogues seek to cultivate connection and deep learning through exploration of critical and contentious issues. This series is focused on providing space for participants to practice the skills of dialogue and deliberation.
We hope to engage with dialogue where participants will:
- Deepen insight into multiple perspectives and stimulate complex, nuanced thinking on the tensions within critical issues
- Prepare students to navigate a diverse world with a curious perspective-seeking frame
- Practice and cultivate dialogic skills
- Guide exploration of personal ethics, morals, and values
- Build and contextualize awareness of self in relationship to others in their community
- Foster connection between participants by relating to each other with genuine curiosity, interest, and imagination
- Inspire socio-political action, both individual and collective
Community Dialogues is an initiative offered in partnership by Community Engagement & Leadership, the Office of Institutional Diversity, and University Housing & Dining Services - Diversity Initiatives & Programs.
A Story Circle is a storytelling process that can be used for a stand alone event, as an icebreaker, or a main activity for generating connectivity and dialogue between people. Story Circles are a dialogue tool and strategy that we use in many of our dialogues.
Learn More About Story Circles
NOTE: Dialogues by Request are on pause for the 2026-2027 academic year due to shifts in professional staff in CEL.
2025-2026 Dialogues
Harvesting Truth: Diverse Perspectives on Thanksgiving
Date: Thursday, November 13, 2025
Time: 4-6 pm
Location: MU Room 109
Power of Color: Race, Culture, and Love
Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Time: 4-6 pm
Location: MU Room 13
Between Leaving and Belonging: Stories of Refugee Resilience
Date: Thursday, April 16, 2026
Time: 5-7pm
Location: MU Room 109
Beyond the Environment: Nuancing Sustainability
Date: Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Time: 4-6pm
Location: MU Room 13
What Are Dialogues by Request?
NOTE: Dialogues by Request are on pause for the 2026-2027 academic year due to shifts in professional staff in CEL.
Dialogues are one of the many immersive events CEL offers in order to actively engage with one another in dialogue in order to become more self-aware, relational, and discerning leaders in the communities we find ourselves in and outside of OSU. Dialogues By Request is an extension to our Community Dialogues events and is offered by request to student organizations & clubs, fraternity & sorority chapters, departments, classes, staff teams, and other groups within the OSU community.
We offer a variety of dialogic formats and encourage a consultation with one of our staff members in order to identify the best format fit for the conversation you wish to have, which can be done before or after submitting a request. Please make sure you have read the website information in its entirety before proceeding to request a dialogue.
Dialogue Disclaimer
While dialogues are a space meant to facilitate discussion amongst lived experiences, it will NOT be a space for argument or debate. Many of the stories and experiences shared during these sessions are taken from a personal perspective and are reflective of individual experience. Please hold respect for yourself and others within the space by practicing active listening and allowing students their full amount of time to share.
Dialogues are a space that welcomes and encourages vulnerability. However, it CANNOT be a replacement for psychological services. If you or someone you know are in crisis or you would like to speak to a professional, please visit the CAPS webpage for more information.