USC

Pizza and Politics primes students for civic conversations

Politics are polarizing. USC thinks conversation — and a little pizza — can help.

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Photo by Clera Rodrigues.

USC Dornsife’s Center for the Political Future is facilitating a five-part series of political discussions for students, faculty and staff. The biweekly lunchtime forum, known as Pizza and Politics, offers free pizza, networking opportunities and discussions about various political issues.

“This is really the way that we break through polarization and political differences, is by sitting down and talking,” said Kayla Koerting, CPF Fellows Program Manager and the forum’s moderator. “They’ll sometimes be the farthest right you can imagine, and sometimes the farthest left you can imagine.”

Conversations take place in the foyer of CPF’s office, an effort by organizers to create a casual environment where students feel comfortable, said Koerting.

“They can ask questions, they feel that their voice is heard.”

Each semester’s fellows come from a wide spectrum of ideologies and expose students to a variety of viewpoints. They work to deepen students’ understanding of governance, as well as to encourage civil discourse on campus and in the community.

CPF’s goals include teaching practical politics and inspiring students to civic participation. The organization also strives to bridge divides and reduce political polarization.

“In our times that are very kind of politically charged and hyper-partisan, the center really focuses on bringing together voices from both parties,” said Mike Schmuhl, the chair of the Indiana Democratic Party, a fellow who participated in Wednesday’s session with political analyst Aaron Mishkin, director of the FOX News Election Decision Team.

“I think that a lot of our political climate right now is very polarized and very partisan,” Schmuhl said. “Just yesterday, the speaker of the House was ousted from his position, a Californian, Kevin McCarthy. So, unfortunately, I think things are pretty polarized and we’re about to get into what is going to be a hugely consequential election for the United States.”

The CPF Fall 2023 Fellows cohort also includes Reince Priebus, former White House chief of staff and chairman of the Republican National Committee, Addisu Demissie, principal and founder of 50+1 Strategies, and Betty Yee, former California state controller.

Fellows spend the semester conducting study groups, as well as hosting office hours, roundtable conversations and numerous bipartisan CPF political discussions and conferences throughout the year.

“We’re just breaking down barriers and making students understand that different opinions are not the enemy,” says Koerting. “You can sit down and have a conversation and a pizza with someone that doesn’t believe what you believe. And at the end of the day, you’ll probably find some common ground.”

The Wednesday forum was the third in the series that Alexander Park, a public administration graduate student at USC, attended.

“Getting a diverse perspective, which I never even got in my undergrad,” said Park. “It’s helped me be very connected to national politics in a way I never thought I’d actually be able to experience.”

Zhuohang Liu, a graduate student studying computer science, said it’s interesting to listen to the politics of a country other than his own.

“If politics are not well managed, it could lead to very nasty scenarios,” Liu said. “For example, Roe versus Wade, or even outright wars. It would be good to pay attention to them to know what’s going on.”

Schmuhl said he feels like he is back in college at these sessions.

“The students are wonderful, they’re inquisitive, they’re smart, they’re funny, they’re engaged,” said Schmuhl. “They’re really, really passionate about politics and the issues of the day.”

“My hope is that younger folks, like we have here on campus, they’ll grow up and they’ll lead an America that is a lot more united than it is divided.”