Learn.
Communicate.
Empathize.

Learn about the impact of American policies
by reading and sharing individual stories.

Providing a safe space

The division of our country has been consistently growing. This increased polarization has contributed to two-sided political beliefs. People are more likely to vote based on party rather than policies themselves, stymieing constructive conversation. Without conversation, the possibility of bridging the current polarization is minimal.

We’ve created a safe and welcoming platform where users can come to share and learn about diverse perspectives through first hand experiences. Our research displayed that political stories are more likely to elicit empathy in comparision to hard facts or statistics. This platform prioritizes empathy from users through finding common ground and seeing opposing political parties as people rather than an enemy or party.

Help others gain a new perspective.

Share your own personal experiences that have been affected by United States policy.

Learn to empathize.

Read about other's stories to gain a perspective on life with United States policy outside of your community.

Become well-versed.

Further your understanding in politics to become a more educated voter.

Demo

Our Team

Alan Tran
Project Manager

Alan is from Newcastle, Washington. He is a senior studying Informatics with a concentration in Human Computer Interaction at the University of Washington. Alan wants to work on digital products in the future that promote inclusivity and helps society progress. Alan is passionate about Plurality because the political divide is something that has affected him for a long time. Hearing so many opinions from multiple places made him realize how important this topic is.
Audrey Chen
‍‍‍Front-end Developer

Audrey is from Eugene, Oregon and is a senior at the University of Washington studying both Law, Society, & Justice and Informatics. Audrey is planning on working in company external relations with non-profit organizations as she is passionate about building community while working to create greater impact. Audrey notes that polarization has made having civil political conversations with the people around her increasing difficult, so by working on Plurality, she hopes to address the overall lack of political education.
Brendan Tran
User Experience Designer

Brendan is from Puyallup, Washington and is a senior at the University of Washington studying Informatics with a concentration in Human Computer Interaction. As an user experience designer, Brendan is aspiring to creating equitable products to bridge the current information gap. Brendan says that conversations about politics have become more difficult so he strives to create a platform where people are more willing to understand diverse perspectives and can be more informed when voting.
Paul Pham
‍Back-end Developer

Paul is from Bellevue, Washington and is a senior at the University of Washington studying both Informatics and Education, Communities, and Organizations. He is passionate about increasing equitable access to computing education through research and non-profit work. Paul believes that Plurality has the unique ability to help us learn and practice empathy by sharing stories, listening to other perspectives, and hopefully finding common ground in an increasingly diverse society.

Attention: Plurality will start its transition to be open to any UW Informatics group that wants to expand out the project. This will happen anytime after May 2022 and we will notify any participants in any of our studies if and when that happens.