What are Campus Listeners?
Controversy can be upsetting and sometimes disturbing. Campus Listeners are deployed during campus events such as protests, demonstrations, and controversial speakers to engage people in conversation, help de-escalate confrontations, and listen as someone clarifies their own views and concerns. They do this by purposely engaging event participants informally by checking to see if someone is ok, listening as someone clarifies their own view, or offering to help people talk to each other. Campus Listeners work in concert with UNH Police and Peacekeepers. Campus Listeners are trained in advance and work directly with NH Listens staff.
What skills are needed to serve as a Campus Listener?
While Campus Listeners should be able to remain impartial in their support or opposition to ideas expressed by students and invited speakers, their core responsibility is to remain a bit distanced from the center of a crowd and be available for conversations.
There is no formal time commitment beyond a two-hour training session. Campus Listeners will be contacted ahead of time when events are scheduled on campus and are asked to attend if they are available.
Interested in joining the Campus Listeners program?
Next Training:
- Thursday, Sept. 26th, 3–5pm
