They Say / I Blog

Students as consumers: E. Michele Ramsey on the language of capitalism in higher education

Is college a public good or a consumer good? E. Michele Ramsey asks this question in her May 5, 2020 post on the blog Mere Rhetoric. She critiques the rise of consumer metaphors in higher education, showing how this “language of business” affects students’ and society’s perception of the purpose of college. In the face of the pandemic and the uncertainty of whether college campuses will reopen for the fall, the economic value of a college education is under scrutiny as students seek to ensure they’re getting their money’s worth.

E. Michele Ramsey, "Consumption, COVID-19, and Consequences of Language in Higher Education," Mere Rhetoric: Musings on Communication, Pop Culture, and Politics, 5 May 2020

 

Power couples: Cardiff Garcia and Stacey Vanek Smith on marriage and income inequality

Another way the rich keep getting richer? Marriage. This NPR podcast from February 24, 2020 explains the phenomenon of “assortative mating,” which occurs when people of similar education levels and socioeconomic status marry each other. Hosts Cardiff Garcia and Stacey Vanek Smith interview economist Branko Milanovic, who argues that this trend furthers income inequality in the U.S.

Listen to the podcast first, and then respond to the questions. The questions include time stamps to help you navigate to particular parts of the podcast. You can also refer to the transcript that appears below the podcast on the website.

Cardiff Garcia and Stacey Vanek Smith, "For Rich or Richer," The Indicator, 24 February 2020

 

Bearing the burden: Helen Lewis on how pandemics affect women

Who’s watching the kids? For many families, the answer falls along predictable gender lines, as women attempt to balance their jobs with unpaid caregiving. In her March 19, 2020 essay in The Atlantic, Helen Lewis contends that this gender divide matters, especially in pandemics. Lewis looks at the current crisis as well as past pandemics worldwide to demonstrate the risks of taking “a gender-neutral approach to pandemics.”

Helen Lewis, "The Coronavirus Is a Disaster for Feminism,” The Atlantic, 19 March 2020

 

Privacy and public health: Sidney Fussell on smartphone surveillance

How do we balance protecting individual rights and safeguarding public health? This question is at the heart of the current response to the COVID-19 global health crisis. In his March 21, 2020 WIRED article, Sidney Fussell asks whether using people’s smartphone data to track the virus is an infringement on privacy or a necessity to secure collective health and safety.

Sidney Fussell, "How Surveillance Could Save Lives Amid a Public Health Crisis," WIRED, 21 March 2020

 

Calling in sick: Amanda Mull on protecting everyone with paid sick leave

Wash your hands. Stop touching your face. Avoid large crowds. This past week, we’ve been inundated with advice for stopping the spread of COVID-19. In her February 28, 2020 essay, Amanda Mull argues that pandemics like this one could be contained more easily if we addressed an underlying structural issue inherent in the American workplace: the lack of paid sick leave.

Amanda Mull, "The Problem with Telling Sick Workers to Stay Home," The Atlantic, 28 February 2020

 

Keeping kids safe: Jaclyn Schildkraut on school lockdown drills

Active shooter lockdown drills are now common in U.S. schools, in response to recent deadly school shootings. In 2019, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers worked with the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund to issue a report calling for the end of these drills. Jaclyn Schildkraut, a researcher who investigates school shootings, argues back and makes her case for why lockdown drills are necessary in this February 12, 2020 essay.

Jaclyn Schildkraut, "Schools Should Heed Calls to Do Lockdown Drills without Traumatizing Kids Instead of Abolishing Them,"The Conversation, 12 February 2020

 

On the ballot: Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux and Meredith Conroy on representation in elected office

Quick! Which state leads the country in electing women of color to executive office? The answer? New Mexico. It’s not a “fluke,” Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux and Meredith Conroy contend in their FiveThirtyEight essay published on January 31, 2020. Rather, they argue, the work that has been done in New Mexico to put women in office can be used as a blueprint in other states to make our government reflect the diversity of the people it represents.

Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux and Meredith Conroy, "Why New Mexico Elects More Women of Color Than the Rest of the Country," FiveThirtyEight, 31 January 2020

 

A man’s place: A conversation about masculinity in the #MeToo era

Too often, the most pressing debates about gender (i.e. sexual assault, equal pay) are simplified to women’s-only issues. That’s a problem. In this November 12, 2019 YES! piece, nine people discuss our collective responsibility in these conversations and debate how men should participate in the #MeToo movement.

Alex Meyers, Earth-Feather Sovereign, Imara Jones, Kalimah Johnson, Kendrick Sampson, Maru Mora Villalpando, Sady Doyle, Tarana Burke, and Tony Porter, "Can We Build a Better Man?" YES!, 12 November 2019

 

Back on campus: James Hatch on learning from (and with) today’s college students

The generational divide is real, captured in “ok, boomer” eyerolls, “Karen” memes, and complaints about those tech-obsessed, lazy millennials. James Hatch is a 52-year-old Navy veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, and a freshman at Yale University. He’s working to bridge the divide in his defense of college students, published in GEN on December 21, 2019.

James Hatch, "My Semester with the Snowflakes," GEN, 21 December 2019

 

Protecting our past: Elizabeth Silkes on the places that connect us all

There are some places around the world that carry significant meaning, not just for the local community, but for all humankind. These places are the stuff of bucket lists, the wonders of the world, marked for preservation and protection because they stand for our common humanity. Elizabeth Silkes, the Executive Director of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, argues for the importance of protecting cultural and historical sites in this January 10, 2020 TIME essay.

Elizabeth Silkes, "Cultural Heritage Reminds Us of Our Shared Humanity. That’s Why Threats Against Them Are So Dangerous." TIME, 10 January 2020