Dallas College Richland Campus has welcomed a new student club, the Dialogue Society.
The club’s goal is to promote understanding and connection among people from diverse backgrounds and cultures through open and respectful dialogue.
Founded by students, the Dialogue Society aims to create a positive impact in Richland’s local community by encouraging interactions with dignity and values. Bahar Ozer, one of the founders, said, “Our goal is to spread the common good globally, starting with our local community.”
“This club was created after seeing similar initiatives at universities like the University of North Texas, Southern Methodist University, the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas at Arlington, where intercultural events are held among universities to bring together people from many different cultures to foster understanding and build bridges between diverse cultures and faiths,” said Selma Aktas, another founder.
The third founder, Erdal Kaya, also played a key role in the first event, helping with the organization, providing audiovisual support and taking photos and videos to ensure everything went perfectly.
The club’s first event, titled, “Who am I and who are you? Can We Work Together?” was held Oct. 22 at Sabine Hall.
With an attendance of over 20 people, the event was led by Professor Kay Coder and included activities designed to encourage personal reflection and mutual understanding.
The event began with an activity called Style Identification Map, where participants discovered their personality type based on the Myers-Briggs personality test and the True Colors test. Afterward, the attendees were organized into groups according to their test results to identify each group’s strengths, needs, values, joys and stress factors.
The day concluded with an additional group activity, where participants were reorganized into new groups. They discussed real-life situations in the workplace, exploring different perspectives, perceptions and outcomes of each personality type.
The Dialogue Society invites the entire Dallas College community to attend its upcoming events.
The first will be the annual Thanksgiving Friend Lunch, which will be held Nov. 26 from noon to 2 p.m. Additionally, the Art Contest 2024-25 has been announced, with the theme Empathy: Walking in another’s shoes.
This contest, open to submissions until Dec. 7, will include categories such as art, painting and drawing, photography and videography and is supported by the Dialogue Institute of Dallas.
This new club promises to be a space where students can learn, share and grow together, creating an inclusive and collaborative community.
