Why More Like US Is Needed

More Like US strengthens and extends existing efforts to improve civil discourse on college campuses.

Many current programs do an excellent job of teaching dialogue skills and creating opportunities for students to engage across differences. However, they often face three common challenges: motivating broad participation, reaching students beyond those already interested, and sustaining impact over time.

Students frequently have questions that traditional dialogue initiatives do not address: Who are the people I'm being asked to talk to? What will my friends think if I become friends with "them"? How uncomfortable will these conversations be? 

These social and emotional concerns can discourage participation before conversations even begin.

As a result, many opt-in programs attract a relatively small group of students who are already motivated to engage. Even campus-wide initiatives often provide limited follow-up, making it difficult for new attitudes and behaviors to become lasting norms.

More Like US addresses these gaps by focusing on the motivations and social dynamics that influence student behavior. Rather than relying solely on dialogue opportunities, More Like US encourages broader participation, reinforces positive norms over time, and helps create a campus culture where meaningful engagement across the political spectrum becomes more common and more sustainable. 

Minimizing Misperceptions Motivates Civil Discourse

Motivation on college campuses involves both reducing hesitancy and increasing interest to engage in civil discourse, especially across the political spectrum and on political topics.

With support from our distinguished Social Science Advisory Council, research highlights many addressable distortions and misperceptions: 

• Overly negative impressions of those across politics, often called perception gaps; 

• Misperceptions of campus social norms, known as pluralistic ignorance; 

• Ingroup misperceptions, such as overestimating intolerance and the likelihood of getting canceled;

• Overestimating the complexity of basic civil discourse skills; and 

• Underestimating how many students enjoy discussing politics with each other, and how much employers value constructive dialogue skills. 

Minimizing these misperceptions motivates more civil discourse on campus. 

More Like US's Campuswide Scalable Methods

More Like US reaches entire campuses by correcting the misperceptions that discourage civil discourse. Our research-based messaging and programming complement existing initiatives while expanding their reach and lasting impact.

• Social Norms Marketing Campaigns: Supported by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, this model pairs a campuswide survey with a high-visibility messaging campaign across print, digital media, and trusted campus voices. It is currently being piloted at Michigan State University.

• Messaging Campaigns for Any Campus: Supported by Civic Right, this approach uses national research and optional campus focus groups to deliver compelling, evidence-based messaging without requiring a campus survey.

• Programming and Capacity Building: We also offer workshops, first-year orientation programs, and educational resources, including our perception gap lesson plan, which Georgetown University found highlyeffective.

Project Director Bio:

James Coan is Co-Founder and Executive Director at More Like US. James has been involved closely in efforts to improve the US political environment since shortly after the 2016 election, with a main interest in finding and implementing effective interventions at scale. He previously served in various volunteer capacities for Braver Angels, one of the largest organizations focused on reducing political divisions, including as Mid-Atlantic Regional Lead and co-founder of the Ambassador program. He brings more than 10 years of strategy consulting experience, and he worked at a think tank after receiving a degree in public policy from Princeton.