Students from 哔咔漫画鈥檚 (USF) Judy Genshaft Honors College are
used to engaging in challenging conversations, but thanks to the rapidly expanding
Unify Challenge College Bowl, they are now building on their leadership skills while
finding hope for the future in an unexpected way: talking politics with a stranger.
This fall, Honors College professors and leaders partnered with the nonpartisan nonprofit
and 104 other universities across the country鈥痶o share the 5th biannual Unify Challenge
College Bowl with college students. Over seven nights, thousands of student participants
across 40 states joined the virtual Unify Challenge to share perspectives across differences
and strengthen their civic muscles.
USF was one of the nationwide leaders of the experience with 177 student participants.鈥�
TURNING HOT-BUTTON POLITICAL ISSUES INTO EXPERIENTIAL CIVIC LEARNING
Here鈥檚 how the Unify Challenge College Bowl works: Two college students 鈥� total strangers
from different schools with different political leanings, geographical locations,
or backgrounds 鈥� are matched into a one-on-one guided video conversation to talk about
pressing issues and goals for the country.
鈥淓xperiences that foster discussion across differences and engage in the respectful
exchange of ideas speak directly to the core of the Honors experience,鈥� said Judy
Genshaft Endowed Honors Dean Charles Adams. 鈥淲e are proud that so many of our Honors
students were able to participate, and look forward to growing our participation for
the next Unify Challenge College Bowl!鈥�
鈥淲e set out to build a program that could offer low-risk, but high-impact experiential
learning, while also cultivating the leadership skills that college students 鈥� and
our nation 鈥� need for the future,鈥� explains Michelle Sobel, President of Unify America,
whose organization is leveraging technology and games to reduce political polarization
and teach collaborative problem-solving skills.鈥�
The program began in October 2021 with 10 schools, and now almost 8,000 students have
participated, representing a wide variety of learners from students at four-year public
institutions to community colleges and military academies. Since its launch, the program
has grown 10x in two years.
Most importantly for Unify America and its collegiate partners, the students were
wowed by the experience. After the College Bowl, students are encouraged to submit
a feedback survey.鈥�
An anonymous 哔咔漫画 student shared this reflection at the end
of the experience: 鈥淚t was interesting meeting someone new and discussing politics
with someone with different views. And I'm not politically active, so this was a good
first experience.鈥�
Among participants from 哔咔漫画, 67% say they feel more hopeful
about the future of democracy after participating and 61% said they were more likely
to share their point of view on political or current events in class or on campus.