Northern Michigan University President Brock Tessman sits with students and faculty to discuss mental health on campus. (Photo courtesy of Dwight Brady)

MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University’s Communications Department hosted a series of events last week to emphasize the importance of respectful communication during its first- ever “Civility Week.”

Organizers said there is all too often a lack of civility in today’s world, ranging from academics to politics to interpersonal communications. The week-long series of events focused on teaching people with conflicting ideas ways to reconcile those differences.

Events on March 28 focused on civility in the classroom. The panel was called Academic Freedom and Civility. A panel surrounding “Civility in the Classroom: A Virtual Discussion,” was also held.

“I felt the session … was very well prepared by Associate Provost Leslie Warren and faculty union president Rick Mengyan, but unfortunately, it was not as well attended as I had hoped,” NMU multimedia professor and event organizer Dwight Brady said. “In the future, we clearly need more promotion to stress the quality and importance of these events.”

State Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Township, spoke March 29 about his experiences with civility in politics. McBroom shared career highlights, starting with his time as an NMU student to his current elected position. He explained that despite ideological differences with his Democratic peers, or even people within his own political party, he insists on a productive conversation — not a mindless argument.

McBroom said to have a successful back-and-forth between opposing sides, it’s important to be humble and keep in mind that “I have to be willing to accept that I could be wrong.”

What followed was a time dedicated for comments, concerns and rebuttals about McBroom’s comments.

Both head NMU archivist Marcus Robyns and Professor John Ewalt thanked the senator for speaking at the event, then challenged some of his views as civilly as possible.

“You represent a political party that is threatening people that I love,” said Robyns, whose daughter, stepson and best friend are part of the LGBTQ+ community. “Your party is pushing legislation that is threatening their basic humanity … to be very honest … I see you as the enemy. I’m very sorry, but you’re standing there as a representative of something that’s challenging my very core existence…. How do I find empathy with you?”

McBroom condemned fellow Republicans who don’t practice empathy for a minority group, like those residents who identify as LGBTQ+. But he ultimately defended his vote against an amendment to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act that adds protections against the discrimination of anyone regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

McBroom added that both sides need to “try to grant that basic, preliminary understanding that says, ‘I want to hear your point of view … put it up against mine … challenge myself to defend my position or recognize I can’t defend it.'”

Ewalt followed up challenging a claim the senator made in his speech. McBroom said this newfound breakdown of civility in America is due to a large-scale move away from the Christian faith and into selfishness. Without the Christian God’s teachings that humans are inherently flawed, McBroom argued, it becomes harder for people to admit they’re wrong.

“If you think about the narrative of the decline of the spiritual tradition to the secular tradition, science was really supposed to be built on this idea that you might be wrong,” Ewalt said. “You do science and the idea is that experiments be replicated, tested, challenged over time and that’s how it improves itself.”

McBroom said he disagreed, but continued to listen as Ewalt discussed a more secular worldview.

After the exchange, a panel with political science, philosophy and communication professors was presented.

Thursday’s Civility Week events centered around a student-led discussion about mental health.

“It was great having members of the administration, including President (Brock) Tessman, participate in the student-led forum on mental health,” Brady said. “This session produced a number of ideas that can be acted on quickly along with other ideas that will be a bit more longer term in their implementation. This exercise shows that we can reach solutions when we sit down and listen to each other and communicate in a civil manner.”

Events during the week also included a lecture by Dr. Dannagal Young, author of “Irony and Outrage” and co-author of “A Crisis in Civility,” and a student speech contest.

“I was also very pleased with the student speech competition,” Brady said. “Our six finalists presented their speeches to a live audience at the Black Box Theatre, and they all did an outstanding job of delivering their speeches … before a panel of judges comprised of NMU staff, administration and faculty.”

Silas Sommers came in first place winning $200 with “Civility and Sesame Street.” In second place was Jack Teichman, winning $150 with “Ghosting and Civility” and Midori Bud in third with “The Willow Project” earning $100.

Other finalists included Freddy Sims with “Diversity,” Samantha Nash with “Critical Race Theory” and Paige Meisel with “Toxic Queerness.”

“The Civility Project” with Nolan Finley and Stephen Handerson, journalists who encouraged uncomfortable discussions, closed out the conference on Friday.

Brady said, “I feel we put together a great lineup of informative events for the first-ever NMU Civility Week. The feedback we received will provide a good base to work from as we consider future events related to civility.”

Alexandria Bournonville can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 206. Her email address is abournonville@miningjournal.net.