Community Meetings

Community Meetings have often been notorious in the past as endless, useless tedium. To be fair, they sometimes turn out that way, but they usually don't have to.

Community meetings are usually called by the STUDENT COORDINATORS (see section J.3), but can theoretically be called by anybody in the Learning Community. Naturally, everyone must be notified as far as possible before the meeting, to give time for schedule changes and travel. The goal, after all, is inclusiveness. It is usually worthwhile to set up a regular schedule of community meetings at the beginning of a semester, just to avoid confusion and hurt feelings.

The key to a successful meeting of any kind (within the Friends World model) is good facilitation, and an atmosphere of respect. The respect means that even if people are angry and hurting, they can control themselves enough to maintain a forum where everyone feels like they can talk. (The origin of this emphasis on respect is the Quaker belief in the divinity within each individual.) Respect may be difficult to achieve sometimes, but is always worth striving for. It is the only way that a process like our community meetings can possibly work. Here is some explanation of the process from the Student Handbook:

While all centers operate within the educational and governance 
guidelines outlined in this Handbook, and under the administrative 
direction of WHQ, it is through the community meeting that faculty, 
staff and students at regional centers adapt Program-wide policies to 
local conditions.  The community meeting also enables each group and 
person within the center to voice concerns, and to engage in joint 
planning of the center's program and its evaluation.  The community 
meeting does not run the center -- the Director is ultimately responsible 
for center affairs -- but the Director and the faculty are expected to 
maintain close communication with the students through the community 
meeting, to heed their concerns and, wherever possible, to reach 
decisions regarding the center's program and operation through 
consensus.  In situations of extreme conflict or disagreement, or in 
emergencies, the Director or Student Coordinator should consult with 
the World Council.

The community meeting, then, is like the "town meeting" of the regional 
center community.  It provides an opportunity for issues to be raised, 
discussed and acted upon -- issues of specific relevance to the center 
or relating to wider Friends World concerns -- and well as occasions 
when students and faculty can share their ideas and learning activities, 
can offer advice and support to one another, and can celebrate events 
(birthdays, graduations, victories in elections or whatever) in a 
communal manner.  

In general, community meetings observe the following format:

	(1)  The community chooses a facilitator (who, like a 
chairperson, keeps the meeting running smoothly according to the agenda), 
a recorder (someone who takes minutes) and a timekeeper (entrusted to 
keep the participants informed of whether the discussion is exceeding 
the time allocated to each agenda item).  

	(2) The meeting is begun with a moment of silence.

	(3) An agenda is drawn up combining items that have been 
solicited previously and those offered by the assembled group, and a 
time limit is set for discussing each item.

	(4) Discussion is moderated by the facilitator.  Everyone 
should have the right to speak, of course, but remarks should also be 
kept germane to the discussion, be non-repetitive and, whenever possible, 
be kept brief.  Discussion of complex and deeply-felt issues cannot 
always be kept brief and snappy: discourse over the nature of 
experiential education or the implications for the center of certain 
political events in the country naturally involve more lengthy 
presentations and greater time for debate than the technicalities of 
leaving for a fieldtrip the next morning.  Indeed, some topics by their 
nature must be discussed over several meetings even though no decision 
is to be made (for example, a discussion of student work over the course 
of the semester, or simply brainstorming).  The facilitator must 
structure the agenda according to the agenda items and must understand 
how the dynamic of the discussion will differ from topic to topic.  At 
times, the facilitator might want to stop the discussion in order to 
clarify a point; if time is running out or basic disagreement exists on 
an item, he or she might try to identify where the disagreement lies or 
call on a particular member of the group to clarify a position.  If the 
discussion becomes especially heated or hits a deadlock, the facilitator 
may call for a moment of silence.  The recorder might also be called on 
to read back a proposed statement or minute, to be sure that agreement 
has been reached on the content of the discussion.  When a decision has 
been reached it is stated clearly.

If agreement cannot be reached after considerable discussion, a recess 
might be called in which the participants in greatest disagreement are 
brought together to resolve their differences.  If particular objections 
seem inappropriate or are holding up what seems to be the "sense of the 
meeting," the facilitator may say so and ask the individuals involved 
if they feel so strongly about their position that they cannot "step 
aside" and accept the group's decision.  If that does not help, the 
facilitator may suggest a special committee of people most interested in 
the topic to bring to the next meeting the outline of a decision.  

People certainly cannot be bullied into submitting to a group's decision.  
The facilitator and all members of the group must find the delicate 
balance between honestly listening to all opinions and nevertheless 
having to make a decision.  There is no mechanistic recipe for this 
process; it takes a large measure of basic solidarity within the group 
and good faith.  (And again, there must be trust that decisions will be 
respected.  Consensus cannot be the basis for daily activities.  If a 
committee or individual is charged by the group with holding a dinner, 
for example, they must also be given the authority to decide on the menu; 
the same can be said for empowering people to make decisions between 
meetings or in urgent circumstances.  Consensus taken too far paralyzes 
activities and indicates a lack of trust among members.)  

	(5) End the meeting with another moment of silence.

	(6) The recorder writes a summary of the discussion on each 
agenda item and the decision reached.  The minutes are then duplicated 
and passed around to the members of the Learning Community (minutes and 
discussions are usually included in newsletters to other centers).  The 
next community meeting approves the minutes, possibly with revisions.

As you can see, the consensual process of a Friends World Meeting is complicated and organic. Some further excerpts from the Student Handbook have been included (immediately after this section in the printed version) on the topic of consensus as practiced by Friends World.

Be sure to look at the sections on FACILITATION (J.2.a) and MINUTE-TAKING (J.2.b), as well.

The moment of silence is not just some ritual or motion to go through. It is an opportunity for each individual to refocus her thoughts, to leave behind distracting personal agendas, and to reflect on what has just been happening, in the meeting or out of it. This reflection plays a large part in giving meaning to a discussion of serious issues, as well as in maintaining respect within a meeting. It is far too easy, without occasional pauses for reflection, for a meeting to degenerate into hot, rapid debate, with feelings running high and the quieter members of the community shut out of the process.

Stick to your agenda, and stick to your time limits, and you'll be all set.

(And remember, you've never been to a community meeting until you've attended a World Conference!)

Workshop Discussion Sparks

Is it too weird to have a discussion about discussion?

Inspired and Creative

There are Quaker meetings in the regions of all the Centers (except maybe China?). You can learn a lot about "the sense of the meeting" and facilitating by attending meetings.

Rigorous Training

Take turns facilitating and taking minutes. Everyone who wants to should have practice.

AAAAAGGGHHHH!

If no one seems to be able to conduct a forum that people are comfortable with, there is nothing wrong with asking an outside party (perhaps from a local Quaker meeting, or perhaps somewhere else) to facilitate.

See Also

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