Marquette Student Government’s second in a series of Dialogue Dinners was held Wednesday with the aim to engage faculty, students and staff in a conversation about creating a more open and reflective campus community.

The event, with the theme “Who is your neighbor,” was designed for attendees to get to know other community members and discover what concerns they may have about Marquette.

“We have to understand each other’s differences so that we may support one another,” said University President Michael Lovell in an opening statement.

The event involved attendees sitting at round tables, with approximately six people at each, and taking turns answering various prompts presented to them.

The event was split into rounds. In the first, individuals answered questions without hearing responses from others. The second round was similar, however, dialogue and discussion were encouraged.

Attendees discussed the desire to see more interaction between Marquette and Milwaukee, creating more of a unified community overall. They noted that service opportunities like Urban Connection help students feel closer to one another and help them figure out ways to help others.

One attendee noted that, although discussions and openness to converse is important, it is necessary to act upon what’s being discussed.

MUSG moderators were at each table during the discussions. MUSG President Zack Wallace said comments from each discussion will be made available on MUSG’s website. 

The event received more than 35 attendees from various departments, colleges and areas of campus.

“I think that the session was really engaging with students talking about what they felt, how they felt and getting to know what others were thinking,” said Eliza Luvianos, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences and one of the event’s moderators.