By Kate Hill

Staff Writer

This fall, Common Grounds (35 Albany St.) in Cazenovia launched a new live-streaming resource designed to provide the community with a platform for difficult conversations on controversial topics.

Facilitated by Patrick Camilien — assistant director/academic counselor of the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) at Cazenovia College — the conversations are live-streamed on the “Caz Common Grounds Live” YouTube channel.

According to Camilien, the initiative aims to build community and foster respectful dialogue while also creating a platform for people to engage in braver and safer conversations.

“We hope the community will embrace this opportunity and know that there is a platform for them to share perspectives and to be heard,” he said. “There are a lot of amazing people here that have a lot to say and offer, and we want to create a [space for them] to do so . . . We will start with our local community and welcome a worldwide discussion.”

On Nov. 3, Common Grounds Live partnered with Cazenovia College to provide a platform for community members to offer their perspectives on the presidential election.

During the event, Camilien spoke with several in-person guests, answered phone calls, and received questions and comments via the YouTube chat box.

“We are really encouraging people to ask us questions while they are listening in, so we can answer them and provide better understanding and clarification [when necessary].” Camilien said. “The chat box is one of our most important features. It is a way to continue to engage the community in real-time. Our hope and aim is to address those questions as they come in; that way it’s not just the panelists who are engaged, it is really a community conversation.”

A second discussion, focused on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, was scheduled for Nov. 10.

Going forward, the discussion format may vary. At times, Common Grounds Live will propose specific conversation topics like police brutality, gender issues, politics, music and business, and encourage the community to offer their perspectives through a respectful dialogue.

In addition to curated topics, Common Grounds Live will also welcome “free discussions” on issues submitted by community members.

“We hope for diversification of topics for a diverse audience,” said Camilien.

Common Grounds Live also functions as a platform for local musicians, entrepreneurs, artists, and anyone else interested in sharing their unique perspective.

“Yes we are having these difficult conversations, but this is also a platform for the community,” Camilien said. “We invite [people] to come in and create their own shows as well . . . We have the technology to help facilitate these various needs for the community.”

The initiative evolved from the original vision of Common Grounds founder Bob Hood, who owns the building at 35 Albany St.

Common Grounds is a free-use community space adjacent to Dave’s Diner on the corner of Albany and Sullivan Streets in Cazenovia.

The facility serves as a meeting place and workspace for a number of diverse groups, as well as a venue for various community events.

Pre-COVID, the facility hosted study groups, book clubs, educational speakers, a knitting group, sober socials, repair café, open mic nights, bible study, literacy tutoring, artist demonstrations, Ted Talks, chess group, Cazenovia Call to Action, Cazenovia Welcomes Refugees, a poetry slam and more.

“Common Grounds has been the community’s ‘living room’ for two decades,” said Hood. “Young and old alike meet there to talk and share with each other. Many constructive ideas and sustainable groups have evolved from meetings amongst community members and students who frequent Common Grounds.”

In addition to serving as a vibrant meeting space, Common Grounds has provided support and funding to a number of community organizations, including Cazenovia Welcomes Refugees, Cazenovia Artisans, and CazArts.

In spring 2019, Hood met with students from Kurt Wheeler’s Cazenovia High School class who expressed interest in learning how to participate in discussions on challenging topics.

“Family members and many classmates can’t even bring up certain topics because they are too controversial,” Hood wrote in an Aug. 2019 summary of the proposed initiative. “Adults have set a bad example of avoiding tough issues and as a consequence, our country is becoming dangerously dysfunctional; we are losing the gift of constructive dialogue.”

Over the summer, several students began meeting at Common Grounds to practice discussing topics that are not normally addressed.

“We want to support and help expand this effort so that our community can learn from the better example of these students,” Hood wrote.

In speaking with individuals from organizations already engaged in that kind of work, Hood was particularly impressed by the Better Angels (now Braver Angels) Red/Blue Workshops, whose goal is to see if participants can respectively disagree and still find some common ground.

Better Angels is a citizens’ organization that works to unite red and blue Americans in a working alliance to depolarize the nation.

According to Hood, Better Angels believes that finding common ground is the first step in bridging the communications gap that is dividing individuals, families and the country.

Hood decided to use Common Grounds to conduct meetings and workshops in conjunction with Better Angels.

“Through respectful listening we can begin to reduce the anger that fuels and leads opposing views into harmful thoughts, words and actions,” wrote Hood. “Sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it? This is the most challenging initiative that Common Grounds has considered. I believe that it is the root cause for the lack of progress being made in dealing with the problems in our country and in the world. Our generation has watched this problem grow into a crisis in our culture; it is time to become part of the solution . . . We want to show our students — tomorrow’s leaders — that we recognize and support the need to better understand each other. We all need to be touched by something ‘better’ within us . . . Through listening, understanding and respecting another person’s opinion, we can all learn how to find some common ground and build relationships that are in everyone’s best interest.”

Recently, Hood turned the initiative over to Camilien.

“Because of my travel and time away from Cazenovia, I began looking for someone to take over the opportunity of promoting and organizing this initiative,” Hood said. “While everyone thought that it was a good idea, no one seemed eager to accept the challenge. I was quite frustrated that I couldn’t find someone, and then when COVID and social distancing prevented holding large meetings and discussions at Common Grounds, I thought I would have to postpone the initiative.”

Eventually, however, Cazenovia College President Ronald Chesbrough recommended Camilien as a potential candidate.

Hood said Camilien immediately impressed him during their first meeting.

“With Common Grounds LIVE, Patrick is expanding our reach into the community, offering an opportunity for many people to participate and to learn from one another,” Hood added.

Like Hood, Camilien said he believes strongly in both the mission of Common Grounds and the importance of engaging in difficult dialogue.

“We must change the way we interact with one another,” he said. “Often it is our misunderstanding and miseducation that leads to so much division. To address the cause of so much division, we first must understand various perspectives and find common ground, so our approach is thoughtful when we engage each other.”

To subscribe to the Caz Common Grounds Live YouTube channel, visit youtube.com.

To suggest a Common Grounds Live conversation topic or idea, contact Patrick Camilien at [email protected].