To celebrate the beginning of a new semester, the Falcon Facilitators held their spa-themed welcome party Sept. 16 in Strong Hall. 

The organization hosts deliberative forums on campus addressing topics the community is concerned about. In the past, these forums covered topics such as mental health, housing, misinformation vs. disinformation, bullying and more. Many who’ve taken Comms 101 have participated. 

During each forum, a moderator guides participants through an issue guide designed to inspire open conversations on a specific topic. As participants share their ideas, the notetaker documents the key talking points. At the end, everyone reflects on their words and discusses opportunities for action. 

Professors Sally Hardig and Sherry Ford were inspired to start Falcon Facilitators in 2017, when the city of Montevallo hosted public forums over the passage of the Nondiscrimination Ordinance. 

“It was really controversial, and so the mayor at the time, instead of kind of pushing it through for the vote, put a pause on it and invited the community to have a conversation,” said Hardig. 

The pair took what they learned back to the classroom. In 2019, they hosted a series of forums in Comms 101 classes, where students expressed their concerns regarding mental health resources on campus. These concerns were documented and brought to the attention of the university. 

Hardig recounts, “So we took the themes to the vice president of student affairs and some other administrators on campus, gave them feedback from the students, and they were able to act on the feedback and were able to get more counselors. They moved the counseling services to a more private location, and several other specific things were done from that.” 

The in-class forums continued, and in 2021 Hardig was encouraged to apply for a grant from the David Matthews Center for Civic Life, located in Montevallo. “They promote civil engagement like this, like deliberative forums and deliberative conversations,” Hardig states. The grant was approved, and the Falcon Facilitators formally began operations that fall. 

This spring, the group revisited mental health, noting it had been several years since the pandemic and updates to counseling services. Hardig recalls, “It was really clear in those conversations … One, [students] don’t necessarily know what they have, but more than that, there was a desire for individual coping skills.”  

They decided that this fall, they will discuss how Gen Z copes with stress and mental health issues. 

This topic will debut at the First Friday Forums scheduled for Oct. 3 and Nov. 7 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Strong Hall 119. “If you don’t feel like talking, you don’t have to,” advises Hardig to anyone hesitant to attend, “if you just watch and listen, then you will probably feel moved to speak. And if you don’t, there’s no pressure to do that.” Forums will also be held in Comms 101 and Microeconomics classes as the semester unfolds.  

Students interested in becoming a Falcon Facilitator can attend one of two Moderator Trainings that will be held Oct. 2 and Nov. 6 from 5-7 p.m. in Strong Hall 119.