Skip Navigation
  • University Navigation University Navigation
  • Search Button
Search Button
Close Menu

Gonzaga Home

  • About
  • Academics
  • Admission
  • Student Life
  • Athletics
  • myGU

College & Schools

  • Online Graduate Programs
  • College of Arts & Sciences
  • School of Business Administration
  • School of Education
  • School of Engineering & Applied Science
  • School of Law
  • School of Leadership Studies
  • School of Nursing & Human Physiology

Info For

  • Future Students
  • Current Students
  • Parents & Families
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Staff
  • Our Community
  • Basketball Fans
Visit
Apply
Give
Close Menu
Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University
  • Search Button
  • Toggle Menu
News, Events & Stories Menu
  • News
  • Events
  • Stories
  • Publications
  • Galleries
News

News

Close Menu
Events

Events

Close Menu
Stories

Stories

Close Menu
Publications

Publications

Close Menu
Galleries

Galleries

Close Menu
  • Home
  • News, Events & Stories
  • Stories
  • This is Not a Game

Common Grounds - This is Not a Game


December 08, 2017

"The Price is Right.” “Jeopardy.” “Wheel of Fortune.” “Family Feud.” Americans have loved their TV game shows for decades. It’s no wonder that Dan Garrity, director of Gonzaga’s broadcast journalism program, dreamed up a game show format for the university’s recent International Conference on Hate.

What he really wanted to do, Garrity says, was to “prove that people on opposite sides of a divisive issue could willingly find common ground.”

And hence the show, “Common Ground,” was born. “The whole thing is in response to the ailing nature of dialogue in our country today,” Garrity says. “It doesn’t matter where you are politically. People just aren’t having civil conversations when they disagree. This is one way people can see we’re trying to do something about that.”

Garrity drew up the original plans for a game that would include both students and faculty or staff who were known to represent differing political views. In one game, each participant’s challenge
was to predict how the other teammate had already responded to a specific scenario. As he had hoped, contestants were often surprised by what they learned, and by discovering they had more in common than they assumed at the onset of the contest.

Garrity says, “I’m most excited about helping students prove to themselves how they can be part of the solution rather than preaching to and screaming at each other.”

Senior broadcast major Emily Jung accepted Garrity’s invitation to produce the show, which included three pre-produced blocks to be shown at GU’s Conference on Hate, and a fourth segment that unfolded live with conference attendees.

What resulted was a somewhat unexpected display of emotions. One audience member, choking back tears, said, “This … gives me hope.” Another shared, “I thought it was very
moving. We’ve all had families experience divisions they thought they couldn’t get beyond.”

Garrity believes that reaction is proof that the video experiment could have great impact. “It really shows that when we sit down to focus on what we agree on – first
– we learn we are not really as far apart as people sometimes believe.”

Watch the final video
Share Story
Related Stories
  • Angela Jones: On Education, Equity & Faith
  • Professor Laurie Arnold Receives Fellowships
  • Daniel Stewart Co-Edits Book on Business in Native American Communities
  • Learning in Solidarity

Categories

  • Academics
  • Arts & Culture
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Student Life
  • College of Arts & Sciences

Subscribe

Subscribe to Messages from Gonzaga University


First Name
Last Name
Email Address *

Get the latest news sent to you as soon as it is published. While the frequency of these emails varies, you’ll typically receive between two and five emails per week, depending on the time of year.

A monthly newsletter sent from August through June that highlights some of our best news, stories and events.


Back to Top
Visit
Apply
Give
Quick Links
  • Maps & Directions
  • Employment at GU
  • Emergency Information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • Title IX
  • Consumer Information
  • ZagMail
  • Contact Us
  • Harassment & Discrimination Policy
  • Virtual Tour
  • myGU
Gonzaga University
502 East Boone Avenue
Spokane, WA 99258-0102
(800) 986.9585
A Jesuit, Catholic, Humanistic University
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube