My group did Greek life, yea we had the best title I know. Personally, I found the deliberation was fun, but restrained. A debate would have been more engaging. I understand that a debate leaves room for things to possibly get out of hand, but I would have liked to be able to engage the crowd more. I felt as the people leading the deliberation, the whole set up was too passive. We could not take sides, which is fair, but in a deliberation where I individually am biased since I partake in Greek life, I felt if I tried to help guide the conversation I would be called out as biased.
Secondly, I felt that it was hard to truly inform those in the crowd that had no background knowledge on the subject. Yes we provided everyone with an issue guide, but that was the facts and guide to our discussion. There are certain nuances that someone outside of Greek life would not understand, as well as misconceptions that those in the crowd held that if I were to engage them and try and correct them, the deliberation would lose its flow and we may digress into a debate.
Overall, I enjoyed the experience and really the ambiance of the little cafe. It is nice to hear how much some kids do not like the organization you are part of. And of course I never get tired of one kid making an analogy of how a team looks after their teammates because that is exactly the response I was looking for when I asked a question about apartment parties. Sarcasm aside, I did enjoy giving the deliberation and hearing different opinions in a public setting. It made me feel professional and stuff. Its one thing to give a debate in class, but it a public setting it seems more real.