New DID Wall Serves to Encourage Discourse Among PCSB Community Members
When Providence College School of Business students returned to campus in August, they probably noticed something different as they walked through the Ryan Center.
New for the fall 2022 semester is a high-tech Community DID (Dialogue, Inclusion, and Democracy) Wall, located in the Ryan Center’s main atrium. This new “democracy wall,” which serves to foster discussion and community engagement, was quietly installed over the summer. An official grand opening event will be held later.
The history of the DID Wall can be traced back to 2018. A team of students, part of a course taught by Nicholas V. Longo, Ph.D. ’96, professor of global studies, and Quincy A. Bevely, Ph.D., assistant vice president for institutional diversity, created the original board in the Feinstein Academic Center. Members of the Providence College community were encouraged to write responses to a prompt that was added every two weeks, and the team studied and discussed the answers.
Three DID Walls had been installed to match the program’s popularity—the original in Feinstein, a second in the Center at Moore Hall, and a third in Alumni Hall. Members of the School of Business were intrigued by the program’s possibilities.
“[The PCSB wants] to provide a safe space and encourage dialogue on important topics that are normally not discussed in business classes or in a business setting,” said Valeria Morillo ’23, a finance major and French minor who is currently a PCSB DID Fellow. “The DID Wall brings the whole community together to learn about worldly topics.”
The presence of Ryan’s DID Wall is immediately noticeable. The wall’s primary feature is a large touch screen that a passerby may write on. Above and below the screen are the words, “Dialogue – Inclusion – Democracy.” The board’s design allows for simple maintenance, and its increased visibility should inspire students, faculty, and staff to participate.
The wall’s purpose is similar to that of its predecessors. The prompt, chosen by PCSB’s DID Wall Fellows, is changed bi-weekly and targets the PCSB community, the Providence College community, the Greater Providence community, and the world.
“The goal of the DID Wall is to facilitate conversation and [to] create initiatives to foster civil discourse,” continued Morillo. “It provides a safe space for students to express their opinions on diverse topics.”
As students begin to use the wall, she hopes that its installation leads to more opportunities moving forward.
“[Our] future goal is to organize events where students can engage in civil discourse and further discuss their opinions,” she said.
