Setting The South Carolina Stage: New House Members Orientation
Columbia, South Carolina, – The National Institute for Civil Discourse’s Next Generation program hosted a workshop for new members of the South Carolina House of Representatives on Tuesday, with 21 newly-elected members and two “red shirt” sophomore members joining for the training. With blessing and introduction from South Carolina Speaker Murrell Smith and Minority Leader NAME, NICD’s team of facilitators led the engaged group through the Building Trust Through Civil Discourse workshop in the morning.
The session allowed these new members to create meaningful connections with their new colleagues early in their orientation. The personal journeys got beyond the “Why you ran” into the “Why you are the way you are,” which prevented these members’ preconceptions from shaping relationships with their peers. After a morning of personal connections, everyone enjoyed a true South Carolina barbeque lunch where folks pulled chairs around tables to continue the morning’s sessions.
The afternoon session focused on creating a more civil and collaborative legislature in the short and long term. Participants were able to identify the challenges to civility in South Carolina’s House and suggest the immediate steps they could take as a group of new members to improve the legislature. The active group discussion allowed these new members to think strategically about their impact on South Carolinians through the institution beyond their personal legislative accomplishments.
After legislators chose actions they’d like to take to positively affect the State House, the sessions concluded with a reminder: The United States is nearing its 250th anniversary in 2025, and what we will look back and say about our country, about ourselves, is being written now. The new members of the South Carolina State House of Representatives are now responsible for writing part of our history, and their response to the session has started their work on a constructive path.
Speaking about the impact of the Next Generation session, South Carolina Speaker of the House Murrell Smith said: “Dr. Thom Little’s work with the National Institute for Civil Discourse is desperately needed in today’s political environment. The ‘Building Trust Through Civil Discourse’ presentation was the most impactful segment of our 2024 new member orientation program, and its influence was immediate and palpable. The open and sincere communication fostered amongst the newly-elected legislators will carry over into the upcoming legislative session and will continue to build relationships, increase open communication, and foster respect in the South Carolina House of Representatives. I encourage every legislative body to work with Dr. Little and NICD.”
Next Generation is glad to have worked with the South Carolina House to foster civility, and we hope to work with more SC legislators soon!
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About NICD, the National Institute for Civil Discourse
NICD works to build the nation’s capacity to engage our differences constructively. In 2011, the University of Arizona created NICD after the Tucson shooting that killed six people and wounded another thirteen, including former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. In the weeks prior to the shooting, Congresswoman Giffords was already in discussion with the University of Arizona about creating a center that would focus on improving the quality of discourse. The galvanizing power of that event brought together founding honorary co-chairs George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and an impressive bipartisan group of other leaders to honor Congresswoman Giffords’ vision.
Next Generation is one of NICD’s most important programs that creates and strengthens bipartisan relationships through mutual, trust-based, and effective communication in state legislatures around the country.
NICD offers Americans a variety of opportunities and resources to engage differences constructively at https://civildiscourseinstitute.org/.
