SUMMER UPDATE: Paul Krugman

So this past Monday I had the wonderful opportunity to go into Cambridge, where Paul Krugman and Tom Ashbrook (of NPR) were having a Q&A about Krugman's new book as well as his thoughts on the economy. For those of you who don't know Krugman, he is a Nobel Prize winning economist, author, and columnist for the New York Times.

The Harvard book store event took place in the nearby UU church

It's hard to tell in the picture, but the line to get seats was dozens long, and the entire chuch was packed by the time the event was set to begin. Krugman, one of the more outspoken voices against passivity in our current economic situation, drew greatly from the intellectual community around Harvard Square.

He reiterated many of the points he argues in his weekly columns, such as the need for greater stimulus and the comparison that must be drawn between austerity in the stuttering European economies and the moderate growth in the US economy (which received a stimulus that he called "not big enough").

Krugman's book, End this Depression Now!, is an attempt to persuade the voters in a dysfunctional political grid lock to support increased government spending rather than cuts to help reduce the deficit. According to Krugman, the economic crisis in the US is "easy" to fix, but progress is being single-handedly slowed by starkly polarized leaders and excessive fiscal conservatism.

School Year is Over

DISCLAIMER:

From this point on, I will be reporting on only my own awesome, political adventures, and not those directly tied to the school. Obviously this is because I won't be on campus all year, but still blog during the summer. So my posts that don't directly have to do with campus activities will be labeled "SUMMER UPDATE." Cool beans, glad we did this.

Green Up Joins 350

This past Saturday was 350's big Connect the Dots day of action, which took place all around the world. People sent in their images of climate change in their lives from countries from Uganda to New Zealand to Brazil and beyond. You can see more images HERE

We drove a couple of vans to Waitsfield, VT, where the crowd of people heard from farmers and non-profits. At the end of the day, we gathered together around a giant "dot" and had an aerial shot taken for the site.

 

We spent much of the day enjoying the weather and listening to speakers such as Sen. Bernie Sanders and Bill McKibben. It seems like the best place to see adorable dogs outside the shelter is an environmental rally. Of course, Ben & Jerry's had it's truck with free icecream, and of course, I went about three times. The Solar Bus was present to show support for alternative energy, which of course went along with 350's goal of bringing CO2 levels in the atmosphere down to a safe 350ppm.

Inside the Solar Bus

McKibben working outside the Solar Bus

Vermont loves their rallies!

Free Ice Cream!

So...many...puppies

A Sobering Display Wraps Up SVA Month

 

Few issues affect our culture more than those of sexual violence, and that does not mean exclusively women. Everyone is at risk, and the Center for Women & Gender wants you to be aware and active!

April is Sexual Violence Awareness month in the US, and the Burlington area of Vermont has been alive with activity, from the Dismantling Rape Culture Conference at UVM to the Take Back the Night rally in town.

The Gender Center has been tabling outside in the lawn in front of the Chapel with fellow gender groups RU12? (LGBT community group) and H.O.P.E. Works (sexual violence crisis group).

As I type this, I'm sitting with Julia who runs the Center for Women and Gender. We are maintaining the table so that passing students can stop and get information about resources and support. "I'm looking forward to doing more sexual violence prevention education," says Julia, who in the past year has helped bring the Center to the forefront of activism and support on campus.


Messages from survivors of sexual violence are written on shirts hung on lines strung between trees.

"I love and support you. I am here 4 you"

"When I go jogging, I shouldn't have to run for my life"

"Remember it is not your fault. You are not alone. You are not bad."

The messages are strong, melancholy, vicious, hateful, scared, loving, longing, and inspiring. People from all walks of life can be harmed at any time, and as the shirts make clear, many don't fully recover. 


This post may seem more of a downer than most, but as I sit here I am acutely aware that the unspoken crimes happen everywhere--on our campus and on every campuses, as well as in the "real world." The message of these groups is one of support, but also one that suggests perhaps the debate is somewhat misguided. Perhaps, we should focus less on telling potential victims how to be more careful, and focus more on teaching potential victimizers that what they do causes irreparable harm. Instead of sending your child out at night with a whistle, you should send them out with the wisdom that no sexual crime is worth committing.