Michael D'Innocenzo authored a blog post that was published online February 25, 2019 on The Island Now. In the post titled Out of Left Field: From Conversations to Understandings, D'Innocenzo describes a public deliberation project he is planning to launch at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.

The following is an excerpt from D'Innocenzo's blog post:

At Hofstra University, we have applied for a grant from the Herman Goldman Foundation to implement Long Island forums that will have a distinctive approach.

We will ask citizens who participate in the forums to agree to engage in a two-part sequence: first, in deliberative discourse, using the newest NIF booklet, “A House Divided: What Would We Have to Give Up to Get the Political System We Want?” (2019).

After addressing the challenges of divisions and partisanship in the first forum, we will then consider immigration issues on a separate day.

Our intent is to encourage folks to focus first on citizenship responsibilities, how to strive for the common good and for civil, respectful ways of discourse, even when there are significant differences in values and affiliations.

Will citizens who go through a two-hour forum of this nature be better — and more attentively — disposed to address the ongoing, vexing immigration issue in the next two-hour forum?...

To learn more about this work contact Michael D'Innocenzo.