The Bob Graham Center for Public Service and Gator Coalition for Civic Engagement sponsored a UF stop on Bring it to the Table’s tour Friday.
Bring it to the Table is a community engagement campaign which features online “webisodes” aimed at bridging political divides. The opportunity fit with the center’s mission of getting people engaged in political conversation, said Shelby Taylor, digital and communications director for the center.
Two cameramen and an interviewer set up on Turlington Plaza for two hours. Bring it to the Table project launcher Julie Winokur sat on one side of a table covered with a blue star-spangled cloth and invited four passing students to sit on the other.
At the start of each roughly 30-minute session, the participants moved a red teapot containing a yellow flower from the middle to either side of the table to show where they fell on the political spectrum.
“The goal is to get people self-examining their political discourse,” Winokur said.
They then talked specifics, including governmental funding, party lines and the importance of national candidates addressing local issues.
Virginia Stanton, an 18-year-old exploratory freshman, said she was glad she participated.
“It was nice to have my opinion heard through a different outlet other than a box on a sheet of paper,” she said.
