By Emma Weidmann | Staff Writer
Every Tuesday night, the second floor of the Bill Daniel Student Center is alive with conversation. Table Talk, a student organization founded in 2021 by College Station junior Kylie Vernon and Katy junior Libby Carroll, hosts a wide range of hot topics for debate — always nuanced, always sure to bring spirited opinions.
Vernon said she and her co-founder saw a lack of opportunity for open conversations between ideological groups. She said there are discussions within already-defined communities, like debates among Christians, but they saw a need for groups of people with different worldviews to be able to communicate with each other.
“We really wanted to create a space where people could come together to interact with people who weren’t at all in any of their bubbles and their communities so that they could engage with people who think completely different from them,” Vernon said.
Table Talk has hosted discussions on gun control, abortion and more. But Vernon said the group isn’t confined to “spicy” subjects like politics. They’ve held meetings focused on the concept of death and dying, disability and ableism and most recently, on the nuances of consent.
One meeting that stands out to Vernon centered around Baylor’s relationship with the LGBT community, at which several members of Gamma Alpha Upsilon were present. Vernon and Carroll want to use Table Talk as a place to host student groups of various political affiliations — such as Turning Point USA as well as liberal organizations.
“It was so nice to hear what everyone had to say about [the potential chartering of Gamma],” Vernon said. “It was [one meeting] where everyone brought their experiences. I think that was really insightful because it wasn’t theoretical; we were talking about things that really do affect people. I saw a lot of heart changes at that one … I saw a lot of challenging conversations happening then.”
Hilton Head, S.C., junior Matthew Schreiner began regularly attending Table Talk at the encouragement of a friend. As an economics major, Schreiner said he enjoys taking a break from his economics classes to embrace his more opinionated and philosophical side.
“I felt safer to voice my own opinions than I ever have at Baylor,” Schreiner said. “I learned so much from all of the Table Talk conversations that I’ve had.”
Schreiner said he often leaves Table Talk with more questions than answers — and that’s a good thing.
“Not every question is as straightforward as you think it is,” Schreiner said. “Now I approach most issues with, ‘Maybe I need to read a little bit more, think a little bit more, talk a little bit more before I form an opinion.”
Carroll said the most rewarding part of Table Talk is the conversations’ ability to teach participants to relate to and humanize others, despite their differences.
“I can see how other people’s lived experiences have influenced their perspectives that may or may not be really different from mine,” Carroll said. “Through that, we’re able to find common ground.”
