Written October 2023
Brigham Young University is a private research university located in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The university’s mission is to “assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life”.
BYU’s connection to Living Room Conversations began in 2022 when public health professors Jeff Glenn and Cougar Hall, along with graduate and undergraduate student researchers, embarked on a research project seeking to create opportunities for dialogue around divisive public health-related issues among BYU students to increase mutual understanding, respect, and empathy in the campus community. Living Room Conversations was chosen to create and advance such dialogue.
The project has seen success in its two phases. The project’s first phase was led by graduate students Janaya Brown and Cassidy Weaver. Twelve undergraduate students were trained by Becca, LRC’s Executive Director, as conversation hosts. The chosen conversation topics were Mental Health, COVID-19, and Race & Faith. The Mental Health and COVID-19 conversation guides were adapted to reflect the specific issues/norms of the BYU community. The Race & Faith conversations took place in three conversations using the Race & Faith Communities Series guides (Listening Courageously, The Way Forward, and Race & Faith Communities). Including the trained hosts, 139 students participated in the 27 conversations held.
When asked to comment on their overall experience with the project, one student explained, “I enjoyed being in a setting where people are encouraged to listen to others first without rebutting them. I usually don’t talk about these topics due to being anxious about negative responses.” Several students mentioned their desire to incorporate structured conversations into the university campus community permanently. For example, one participant wrote, “I believe this is important enough to be included in curriculum. I think that every BYU student should participate in such a discussion before they graduate.”
The project’s second phase was led by undergraduate students Lexi Brady, Parker Carlquist, and Seth Dotson. The conversation guides used for these conversations were also adapted to fit the needs and culture of the BYU student community. The guides used and adapted were Belonging: Racism and LGBTQ+ Issues, Free Speech, Hate Speech & Cancel Culture, and Dating/Relationships.
The results of the second project phase included a statistically significant increase in participants who felt certain skills were important for conversations and who felt capable of using these skills in conversations. There was also a statistically significant increase in participants who felt comfortable talking to people of different political and social viewpoints and sexual orientations.
The engagement in Living Room Conversations didn’t end with just conversations among BYU students. Those trained as conversation facilitators have also since participated in and acted as facilitators for Living Room Conversations hosted in their community. For example, the Provo Kindness Committee hosts frequent Living Room Conversations open to all community members, and student facilitators from the BYU Campus Conversations Project are often among the participants.
Participants of the project’s first phase created a video explaining the project and highlighting its success. Watch the video here.
- About. BYU Home Site. (n.d.). https://www.byu.edu/about
Written by Cassidy Weaver, Living Room Conversations Community Engagement Partner
Photo Credit: Brigham Young University. (n.d.). Homepage. Family Life. https://familylife.byu.edu/
