At a time when political conversations often lead to division, two Staples students founded a club with a new mission: bringing people together through dialogue and open mindsets.
Founded by Sienna Schwartz ’27 and Jake Shufro ’26, BridgeBuilders is the Westport chapter of Bridge USA, a national organization that works to normalize political polarization and encourage students to accept different perspectives.
“It doesn’t matter if we agree or not,” Schwartz said. “We’re just practicing how to engage in civil discourse.”
That mindset drives the club’s work, encouraging students to listen and engage on emotionally challenging topics. The goal isn’t to change minds, but to foster respect and curiosity, skills that are often lost in today’s divided political climate.
“We need to be able to have conversations without pointing fingers at each other, and accept that our viewpoints are different,” Shufro said.
In order to keep the conversations on track, Schwartz and Shufro act as moderators of the discussion, using tactics they learned during their BridgeUSA training.
“We plan questions ahead, and then mainly sit back to let the group talk. We’ll add in improv questions on the spot if needed,” Shufro said.
While BridgeUSA is a national organization for high school students only, the Westport chapter has adopted a unique initiative: bringing older generations into the discussion. By partnering with the Y’s Men of Westport, a community service and fellowship group for retired or semi-retired men, BridgeBuilders has found a meaningful group to engage with. The two organizations gathered for their first meeting on March 25 at the Westport Library.
“At our first meeting we discussed whether the United States should implement mandatory military enlistment for young Americans. The discussion was awesome; we could’ve talked for hours,” Schwartz said.
This discussion was just the start of the connection Schwartz and Shufro hope to achieve. They want to continue addressing political and civic issues, such as AI use and workforce changes, with the sole purpose of learning.
“It is very important for our community to work on these skills, both for students and senior citizens,” Shufro said.
In a town like Westport, where the majority of citizens tend to lean Liberal, BridgeBuilders tries to engage in dialogue on pretty centrist topics. They avoid conversations that tend to lean too far left or too far right.
“It’s not about what you believe,” Schwartz said. “It’s about how you talk about it.”
