Very important story by danah boyd: To combat increasing polarisation in our society, we need to rely on organisations that actively and intentionally let people with fundamental differences work alongside one another.

https://points.datasociety.net/the-fragmentation-of-truth-3c766ebb74cf

Boyd mentions the military as an example of an organisation that brings together people from different social backgrounds and political views to work on a common goal. To "intentionally bridge gaps in the social graph, to intentionally connect people and communities."

I see schools and universities as another major power to combat polarisation in our society. Our university brings together people from different backgrounds, politcal views and cultures. Creating a sense of common purpose and a sense of a university community is important to fight polarisation and populism in our society.

That's why our campus, our study associations, our sport, cultural and other student associations, are so important. That's also why we need democratic institutions and self-government. They do not only shape our university now, they shape our future society.

We need to work harder to shape our universty as a community. If international students feel disconnected, then we completely failed as a university, no matter how excellent our educational programs are. This U-Today story breaks my heart: ("One in three non-European bachelors had study problems in the previous academic year due to psychological, medical or social circumstances.")

https://www.utoday.nl/news/66403/psychische-en-sociale-problemen-bij-internationale-bachelors