Beyond Words, A Campus Social Impact Fellowship team is using art, design and portable furniture to create new spaces for dialogue across political differences.
Political dialogue on a college campus does not always have to start with a microphone, a debate stage or a formal discussion.
Through Beyond Words: Making Space for Political Dialogue, a Campus Social Impact Fellowship project which started in January 2026, Lehigh students and faculty are exploring how art, architecture, civic engagement and political science can create more welcoming ways for students to engage across political differences.
The project responds to a challenge felt on many college campuses: conversations across political differences can be difficult to begin, especially when students are unsure how their views will be received. Beyond Words responds to that challenge by asking a different question: What kinds of spaces, tools and creative practices might help people listen, reflect and engage more openly?
This semester, the team began turning that question into something real. The 2026 Impact Fellows are Baylee Baker ’28, a political science major; Phoebe Barnes ’28, a global studies and modern languages and literature major; Joshua Haas ’29, a political science major; Rylan Sorensen ’28, an environmental studies major; and Cassidy Lynch ’29, a management major.
Working with architecture students, the Beyond Words team moved from concept to construction, designing and building portable furniture pieces that create flexible conversation spaces across campus. The pieces can be packed, transported and set up in different locations, allowing the project to support reflection, creative expression, workshops and dialogue beyond a single room or event.
The team introduced the furniture pieces during an April 28 unveiling event in Building C, where students, faculty and campus partners were invited to imagine how the space could be used across campus. In future workshops, participants may use drawing, mapping, visual storytelling or object-making to explore political and social issues before moving into conversation. The goal is to make dialogue feel less like a formal debate and more like a shared process of noticing, creating and listening.
The project is shaped by an interdisciplinary pairing of faculty mentors: Christina Chi Zhang, assistant professor of architecture, and Dean Caivano, assistant professor of political science. Their collaboration reflects the project’s central idea that political dialogue is not only about what people say, but also about the environments, tools and creative practices that make those conversations possible.
“Given today’s political climate, many students may feel hesitant to speak openly because they worry about how their words will be perceived. We wanted to create a space where dialogue can happen in different ways, not only through spoken debate, but also through design, visual expression and shared reflection,” Zhang said.
Drawing on their different academic backgrounds, the team is exploring how creative practices can make political dialogue feel more accessible and less confrontational.
“Instead of starting with debate, we want to give people different ways to enter the conversation,” Haas said. “Through drawing, mapping, building and visual storytelling, participants can explore complex social and political issues with more openness and reflection.”
Following the unveiling, the team plans to host 14 workshops across Lehigh’s campus in fall 2026 with student groups and campus partners. The workshops will use creative practices such as drawing, mapping, building and visual storytelling to help participants engage with political and social issues in more open, reflective ways.