Point, counterpoint: The art of civil discourse

College students often affiliate with groups of people who share similar perspectives and backgrounds. Not Shelby Campbell, ’25, and Anna-Laura Houston, ’25. As first-year students, they joined the then-year-old McDowell Student Fellows Program. Hosted by the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, the cross-campus program encourages students, faculty, and guest speakers with diverse views to engage in rigorous, yet civil, discussions on ethical, legal, and political issues.

“The McDowell Fellows Program serves as a co-curricular, philosophical book club, where participants debate ideas with peers and with the book authors,” said Campbell, a double major in business administration and philosophy, politics, economics, and law (PPEL). “You feel empowered as a student to interview authors about their work. You get to try on ideas to see if they work and try to figure out the truth for yourself. Now I think about things I was afraid to think about before. The program has given me a lot of confidence to express myself.”

During Campbell's first year in the program, the fellows read and discussed The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth by journalist and activist Jonathan Rauch. Campbell said she appreciated Rauch’s critique of Democrats for promoting cancel culture and of Republicans for promoting misinformation.

Houston said her favorite program memory was having dinner with Roosevelt Montás, author of Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation. A proponent of a liberal education based on the great books and ideas of Western civilization, Montás talked to the fellows about the importance of family and lifelong learning, topics not often addressed in the classroom, Houston said.

“The McDowell Fellows Program complemented my majors in English and leadership studies, because it forced me to be a more critical thinker,” she said. “I’d have to read argumentative books while thinking about whether I agreed and how I was going to defend my ideas to a room full of disagreeing peers. It enhanced my analysis skills, which ultimately made me a better writer and participant in all my classes. Because of this program, I’m not afraid to share a controversial opinion.”

This is exactly what the program is designed to do, according to Gary L. McDowell Institute co-directors Daniel Palazzolo, professor of political science, and Terry Price, professor of leadership studies and PPEL. Intellectually curious students who self-select into the program typically meet every other week for discussions and attend three or four seminars and lectures by guest speakers each year.

“They don’t get any academic credit for their efforts,” Price said, “just the benefits of open and honest debate with their classmates.”

When they graduated in May 2025, Campbell and Houston became the first Spiders to have served as McDowell Student Fellows all four undergraduate years. During that time, they forged a close friendship, honed their critical thinking and debating skills, and watched the program grow from a cohort of 12 to 58 fellows.

“My biggest take-away from the program is to keep considering different perspectives, because your thinking evolves,” Campbell said.

Houston agreed. “The McDowell Fellows Program is one of the few spaces on campus where students leave with changed ideas and a new perspective,” she said. “This is what college is really all about. I’d tell anyone to apply to be a McDowell Fellow, no matter their major.”