Spotlight
Creating Peace in a Divided World: Students and Faculty Attend Braver Angels Convention
For the weekend of June 27–29, ten Southern Virginia University students and Professors John Armstrong and Todd Brotherson traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin to attend the fourth national convention of Braver Angels—a grassroots movement that addresses political polarization—by invitation of the organization.
“Braver Angels actually covered all of the travel costs for our group, which was incredibly kind of them,” said Armstrong. “I was very excited for our students to experience this convention. My hope was that our students would develop confidence in becoming peacemakers, especially with regard to political discourse, as that’s what Braver Angels is all about.”
“Many of our students were introduced to Braver Angels last November when VMI hosted a collegiate debate with the organization, and then Southern Virginia University’s Honors Program hosted them this past February,” continued Armstrong. “Their founder, David Blankenhorn, also gave a forum address then about being peacemakers in a political world.”
Over 700 people, ranging from ages 14–91 and from various political backgrounds and beliefs, gathered at Carthage College for the three-day event, kicking it off with a symposium introducing Braver Angels’ mission of bridging the partisan divide before hosting the largest cross-partisan presidential debate watch party in the country.
“It was pretty clear in the beginning that all of us there had different views,” said Abigail Hansen, a senior studying business. “But what was really cool is Braver Angels encouraged us, after the debates and workshops are over, to continue talking with someone that you disagree with. Because of that, I was able to have very meaningful conversations with people who thought differently than I did, and that really shaped my experience.”
To further encourage civil discourse during the event, attendees wore colored lanyards that identified what party they supported, and were invited to mingle outside of classes and workshops to discuss opinions, recognize similarities, and build friendships.
“I was actually a bit nervous about the lanyards, but what was really interesting is that there was zero judgment about it,” said Cameron Gabrylczyk (‘25), who is studying political science. “Being able to see how everybody identified helped you have really good discussions with people that had very nuanced and different political opinions than you—while also finding common ground.”
During the convention, attendees participated in classes and debates on prominent political, social, and economical topics, such as class divide, free speech, and cancel culture. They were also encouraged to create their own events and gatherings outside of the convention to continue discussions and further understanding.
“One of the other students invited me to a morning prayer group that a few of the other attendees had started,” said political science major Janet Brame (‘26). “On Friday and Saturday morning we both went to this little prayer meeting with people of all different faiths at the conference to start off the day. That was really cool because I’ve never experienced a prayer circle like that and with so many people of different backgrounds.”
“I really enjoyed being there and seeing so many people from different political, racial, and career backgrounds,” continued Brame. “It wasn’t just people who love political science and love debates, you had people who just wanted to change their community. It was really cool to see this organization bring everybody from various backgrounds together to talk through these hot subjects in a respectful manner.”
Southern Virginia University’s Honors Program will again sponsor and co-sponsor Braver Angels debates on campus and at VMI during the 2024–25 academic year. Professors Armstrong and Brotherson will also teach an honors seminar on peacemaking during the fall 2024 semester, which is open to all students.