Uncommon Grounds provides safe space for tough discussions
By Lauren Fitch // Organizations Editor
High Point University began a new discussion series this year called Uncommon Grounds to help give students a safe place to ask questions about sensitive and sometimes controversial topics that they may not otherwise ask.
The most recent Uncommon Grounds was held in Phillips School of Business on March 27. The topic of this particular discussion was the mass shooting epidemic that this country has been experiencing recently and the gun control movement that has followed.
The panel consisted of five HPU employees including security officers, the school’s disaster planning coordinator, the head of HPU counseling and criminal justice professor Dr. Scott Ingram. The panel asked questions posed to them by Brittani Hunt, HPU’s diversity coordinator.
The audience was able to ask the panel questions including, “How can students help?” “What should be done in the event of an emergency?” and “Will High Point University have more preparedness drills?”
The focus of the meeting was on student safety and protocols currently in place to keep students safe. Uncommon Grounds has taken on a plethora of uncomfortable topics, such as racial injustice, diversity on campus and sexual assault, which will take place during Sexual Assault Awareness Week.
This is all part of the university’s new initiative to make the campus a more diverse space. Diversity can also mean having diverse ideas and opinions, and Uncommon Grounds provides a moderated space where students can feel safe expressing their opinions on the issues that are important to them.
Next week is Sexual Assault Awareness Week, so Uncommon Grounds is hosting an open mic for students to feel comfortable speaking out about their experiences.
Uncommon Grounds is a free speech space on campus. The university is providing students with more real world experience by allowing students to speak about things that we may not agree with and providing students with the life skills needed to conquer these tough conversations.
Students interested in joining the Uncommon Grounds conversations can email Brittani Hunt at bhunt@highpoint.edu for more information.