Bridge Iowa, the local chapter of the 80 nationwide chapters of the BridgeUSA organization, held its first event on Wednesday at Yotopia in Iowa City.
BridgeUSA’s mission is to empower young people to engage in constructive dialogue and disagreement to improve the quality of politics. The organization hopes to achieve a thriving U.S. democracy where leaders and citizens engage in respectful and productive dialogue. Bridge Iowa is the first BridgeUSA chapter in Iowa.
Cielo Herrera, a University of Iowa third-year student, founded Bridge Iowa, serving as the campus organization’s president.
In the first meeting, Herrera said BridgeUSA and, by extension, the Bridge Iowa chapter, is important in fostering discourse and discussion.
“Bridge prides itself on connecting different views and connecting polarized opinions,” Herrera said. “I want to have a peaceful conversation about this administration and the things that come with it.”
The organization creates forums for speech to encourage healthy and productive conversations between people with different political views.
“It’s really important that we enter these things with the thought that maybe we won’t change our mind, but we’ll listen to another,” Herrera said.
Herrera addressed the norms of discussion, including intentional listening. During the meeting, members spoke about their thoughts and fears surrounding President Donald Trump’s second term in office.
The discussion was split between right-leaning and left-leaning students. Discussion points included prospective economic growth and financial freedom, two key issues on which Trump ran in 2024.
Other attendees said they are fearful of the extent of change in Trump’s second term, including federal funding cuts and the U.S.’s withdrawal from international organizations such as the World Health Organization.
A major discussion point was where Elon Musk stands in office, why he is involved in decision making, and general discontent with the structure of power under the new administration. Musk, a billionaire and the owner of X, formerly Twitter, and electric car manufacturer Tesla, has been appointed to head Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE. The department has looked to slash the size of the federal government and find inefficiencies.