They Say / I Blog

Real people, real college: Kristin O’Keefe on academic snobbery

Harvard University, now that’s a real college. You know what? So are Kirkwood Community College in Iowa, Harold Washington College in Chicago, and every community college throughout the United States—over a thousand in all. In this February 2015 New York Times essay, writer Kristin O’Keefe argues that community colleges and their students merit more respect than they’re getting.

Read it here: O'Keefe, “The community college/’real college’ divide”

Lost in transition: Rodale and Musk on the challenges of shifting to organic production

Organic food. Do those words invoke images of a hand holding a spoon over a steaming bowl or a hand holding a shovel over a fertile mound of dirt? We’re guessing that your immediate association is with the food, but what about the farming? In this October 2015 Medium post, originally published in the Des Moines Register, food writers and activists Maria Rodale and Kimbal Musk focus on some of the challenges and obstacles faced by farmers who want to grow organically.

Read it here: Rodale and Musk, “Lost in transition: the path to organic”