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The two joined �鶹��Ƶ���� President Doug Hicks ’90 on stage in front of a sold-out Duke Family Performance Hall and showed that they can overcome their differences. 

“We are not that far apart ideologically,” Tillis said. “I find that opportunities to work together come from treating people fairly, honestly and respectfully.”

Klobuchar, wearing a red scarf which she half-jokingly said was both inspired by �鶹��Ƶ����’s colors and a nod to bipartisanship, was impressed by the broad political representation she saw in the students – and the tight relationships that bound them together. 

“I cannot tell you the importance of bringing civil debate back into our politics,” she said. “We need it now more than ever.”

But both senators have earned reputations for reaching across the aisle. Klobuchar and Tillis have worked together to pass legislation like the Respect for Marriage Act, which provides federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which funds “red flag” laws allowing temporary firearm removal from those who would seek to harm themselves or others.

“Courage isn't standing by yourself and giving a speech,” Klobuchar said. “True courage is standing next to someone you don’t always agree with for the betterment of the country.”

Tillis and Klobuchar covered a number of pressing issues like the potential and peril of artificial intelligence, humanitarian aid, immigration and the current government shutdown. The best hope for these complex, rapidly shifting problems lay in the audience that filled the auditorium, Klobuchar said.

“So much of this depends on how we treat each other,” she said. “It’s on all of us. The only way we're going to do this is by all of you teaching the grownups how this is done.”