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Hamilton’s Common Ground program ventured to the nation’s capital on Jan. 29 where a dozen students in the Washington, D.C., program and about 20 area alumni area engaged in discussion around impeachment.

As part of its continuing Common Ground series, Hamilton welcomed five experts who presented varying viewpoints in the discussion “Affirmative Action: Support, Critiques, and What’s Lost in the Discussion.”

Frankly, Isha Parkhi ’21 was there partly for the food, but she was looking also for more than good Indian take-out at her first meeting of a new student group called Bridge. Its ambitious mission is to foster dialogue across political differences. “That’s a great concept, and we need more conversations,” Parkhi says.

Hamilton community members were transported across party lines on April 11 as Jim Messina, former Deputy Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama, and Reince Priebus, former Chief of Staff to President Donald Trump, engaged in a dialogue surrounding some of the country’s most pressing issues. The event was moderated by Jackie Judd P’14, a veteran journalist and political communications consultant.

Prior to their Common Ground discussion on April 11, Reince Priebus and Jim Messina held a Q&A with Hamilton students. Two government classes were selected to participate in the event. Reince Priebus previously served as chief of staff to President Trump and chair of the Republican National Committee. Jim Messina was the former deputy chief of staff and campaign manager to President Obama.

Hamilton is working with public radio's StoryCorps on a new initiative, One Small Step, to solicit community members in the Mohawk Valley and Hamilton students who hold opposing views to participate in a one-hour, facilitated, and recorded conversation to get to know each other a bit as people.

Mark Elias '90, who served as general counsel for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, and Mike Dubke '92, former White House communications director in the Trump administration, engaged in an effort to respond to the increasing political polarization in the country.