Student-led table talks aim to foster inclusivity

Beginning Jan. 30, the UNMC Office of Recruitment and Student Engagement will offer a series of table talks on inclusivity for UNMC students.

The three talks, held in partnership with Inclusive Communities (IC) — a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting inclusivity — Student Senate and Student Success, will focus on building an inclusive culture on campus, improving inclusivity in workplace interactions, and providing more inclusive patient care.

Each lunch will begin with an individual presentation or panel discussion provided by members of the UNMC or local health care community. During the second part of the event, table hosts trained by IC will facilitate table discussions on the topics presented.

“These conversations can be difficult to have, but they need to be had,” said Channing Bunch, director of recruitment and student engagement.

“It’s important because these students are going to be working with diverse people in so many ways,” said Andrew Faltin, J.D., from the office of student affairs. “Whether it’s ethnicity, whether it’s where you’re from, your age — all these conversations come down to working with people and being able to communicate effectively with them.”

“The program teaches you how to have complex conversations in a non-threatening way,” he said. “The students can feel confident that they can navigate complex, diverse environments.”

While there are a variety of UNMC units, committees, and programs that focus on aspects of diversity, there are very few designed for and directed at all UNMC students, Bunch said. Further, Inclusive Communities specializes in creating comfortable dialogue on issues of inclusivity.

“Faculty and staff often avoid this type of dialogue because they do not know the best ways to facilitate these conversations,” Bunch said. “The mere existence of these programs signals an institutional commitment to inclusion. Also, UNMC’s willingness to deliberately address these difficult topics signals an institutional commitment to improving the campus climate and the larger health care profession.”

The office held a training for students to be table-talk facilitators in December with 25 students, faculty and staff participating.

“We’re just trying to create that dialogue so we can have an inclusive community that everybody feels welcome,” Bunch said. “And this is just the beginning. There are different topics — the next topic we’re looking at is inclusivity for people with disabilities, or for the LGBTQ+ community. People need to sit across a table and just learn to understand.

“The purpose of these talks is twofold: To change our culture, but also to give the students something to take away with them,” he said.