Over a hundred students packed into the Faculty Room for a student- led open discourse forum on Wednesday, January 8. Hosted by the Hotchkiss Political Union, Democrats Club, and Republicans Club, the one-hour conversation between Max Salzinger ’25, cohead of Repubs, and Caroline Block ’25, co-head of HPU, focused on President-elect Trump’s proposed policies for his second term.

The debate was split into four sections: three exchanges (on Trump’s foreign policy, immigration policy, and domestic policy) followed by a period reserved for questions from the audience.

Alex Gish ’26, co-head of HPU; Ethan Choi ’26, board member of Repubs; and Khloe Kim ’28 moderated the debate. They posed an overarching question for each section, fact-checked major claims and facilitated the audience Q&A. Salzinger said, “Maintaining mutual respect between opponents is necessary for a well-functioning debate. Once respect is lost, ad hominem attacks become acceptable and the objective strays from productive discussion to trying to ‘get’ your political opponent.”

“Open discourse is truly so important because it gives opinions, even unpopular ones, a voice,” said Block.

Annabelle Chu ’28, a member of the open discourse organizing team, said, “As a generally neutral observer in terms of American politics, it was refreshing to hear arguments from both sides. Often, people are trapped into echo chambers both on social media and with the people they associate with, so these opportunities to civilly discuss opposing viewpoints definitely helps reduce the stigma around differences.”

This debate is one of many efforts by the school’s political clubs to create and nurture a positive culture around discussions on campus.

The HPU, Demz, and Repubs hold regular meetings to engage with current political issues. Earlier this year, the clubs also hosted an open community discussion on free speech on college campuses by comparing Dartmouth College and Amherst College’s responses to student protests.

Mr. Rick Hazelton, director of the Center for Global Understanding and Independent Thinking, assists in organizing open discourse events and education on campus. He said, “I hope students learn that disagreement is healthy and leads to deeper learning, in contrast to what they are seeing in many corners of U.S. society these days.”

The next open discourse meeting will take place in mid-February on a topic yet to be announced.