We recently launched a series highlighting how civil discourse and leadership are already being promoted on UNC’s campus outside of the embattled School of Civic Life and Leadership’s (SCiLL) curriculum.
Carolina Law Magazine’s Spring 2026 edition covered a discussion between two respected legal scholars who see eye to eye on very little politically. Judge Richard Myers was a Trump appointee. Bill Marshall served in the Clinton administration. They both served as faculty at UNC School of Law.
“They’d debate politics from opposite ends of the spectrum, emerge to commiserate about ‘those people’ who didn’t understand the issues, then head to lunch together and realize they agreed on more than they thought,” wrote Carolina Law Magazine.
It’s a reminder that we as people are more than just our ideas and opinions – the most important thing is how we treat each other. We can disagree without being disagreeable, and perhaps we’ll learn and grow in the process.
Myers as a judge said he takes seriously his responsibility to thoroughly listen to both sides of an argument before making a judgment. Even as an attorney tasked with arguing a particular side, both men believed it was important to consider opposing viewpoints. As Professor Marshall told the audience:
“The worst lawyers I have ever faced when I was a litigator were the ones who completely believed they were right. I won cases I never should have won because people on the other side were so convinced that they knew everything.”
Aside from listening as a tool for furthering a professional cause, Professor Marshall said it was essential for any means of persuasion in public life:
“The First Amendment is not a moral license. If you want to win politically, you need something other than outrage, because you need to be able to persuade. And being able to persuade means you need to know how to listen.”
While the men provided many important insights, perhaps the most compelling takeaway from the event was how much they seem to genuinely like and respect each other. Sometimes it takes looking past the politics to see the person.
Read the full story from Carolina Law Magazine here.
Have another example of how UNC is promoting civil discourse on campus? Send us a note!