bridgeND
About bridgeND
Our Mission Statement
We, the “bridgers” of bridgeND, seek to create problem-solving conversations of national public policy at Notre Dame, bridging students of all political philosophies through the shared conviction that sustainable self-governance requires cooperation, civility and compromise. We challenge our members to challenge each other, with the goal to generate actionable legislative and policy proposals for the national debate and common understanding for our campus debate.
Current distrust of our political institutions and the reactive national discourse that they perpetuate deserves a new conversation that allows divergent voices to find common ground, islands of compromise or—at a minimum—common understanding on the issues that divide Americans today.
We believe that sustained internal dialogue, through policy-based forums, guest speakers and roundtable negotiations, can foster external change in the campus political discourse. Further, sustained interaction inside and outside meetings builds trust between members with opposing beliefs, fostering candid and constructive dialogue. Therefore, embracing President Ronald Reagan’s pact with then-Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neill that, “We’re all friends after 6 p.m.,” our social mission encourages members to form deep friendships and connections with other Notre Dame politicos.
bridgeND is open to all voices—liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican, and anyone in between—willing to talk about our nation’s public policy in new ways.