The Main Street Agenda program’s goal is “raising awareness about issues Wisconsin residents are concerned about in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election.” Throughout the year, they have analyzed different policy topics highlighted by UWSC’s WisconSays, Wisconsin’s Online Public Opinion Panel, and shared the findings in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. In Fall of 2024, the Main Street Agenda also hosted in-person community conversations around the state to give people additional opportunities to share their views on the issues that matter to them. Chancellor Mnookin shared her reflections on these events in her Notes from the Chancellor series on December 31st.
Chancellor Mnookin said: “It’s practically a truism, even a cliché, to say that we are living through polarized times, and sometimes our divisions can seem awfully challenging to bridge. That’s part of why the La Follette School of Public Affairs’ Main Street Agenda program is both exciting and downright inspiring. Over the past few months, the school brought together nearly 350 Wisconsinites with diverse viewpoints and perspectives in Pewaukee, Green Bay, Eau Claire, and Madison for small-group dinner conversations aimed at promoting and practicing civil discourse and respect for differences.
The good news? Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive. As one participant put it, “It’s okay to have a difference of opinion and still agree on the fact that we want a better Wisconsin.”
I’d say it’s not just okay but necessary for our democracy for citizens to have different opinions and to still be able to engage with one another with respect across those differences. We don’t have to agree with one another in order to learn from each other, to respect one another, and even to work together for a better future. This is the university’s guiding principle of pluralism, something our students are hearing a lot about this year.”
Read more here: https://chancellor.wisc.edu/messages-and-speeches/notes-from-the-chancellor/