Conner Gordon

Traditionally "white spaces," art museums must navigate the tensions between accessibility, representation and financial stability.

The other day, I took a test. It didn’t take long, just a few keystrokes and some flashing images on a computer screen. Fifteen minutes later, my results suggested something that I was dreading: I may be a racist.

The experience of food is one that runs to the core of our being. As humans, it is such an essential part of our lives that we rarely stop to question its function in everyday life – at least beyond which restaurant to go to after work. It is so central, in fact, that food could certainly become … Continue reading "Weaponizing Food and the CIA Torture Report"

Among my friends, I would be one of the first to readily admit one thing: I love dogs. Pugs, specifically. My personal allegiance to my family’s dog aside, pugs are one of my favorite animals. If I need to take a break from studying or writing a paper, chances are decent that I’ll log on to … Continue reading "An Unhealthy Obsession: Pugs and the Demand for Cuteness"

Explaining the social justice movement that is #DearDePauw.

Continued education, especially college, has long been seen as a positive and transformative experience, changing those who enroll and readying them for the world after graduation. But what happens when unhealthy competition enters the mix? Columnist and mother Lucy Clark knows all too well. In her piece, strikingly titled, “My daughter, my beautiful failure,”  Clark details … Continue reading "“My Beautiful Failure” and Competition in Higher Education"

One would certainly hope that, as far as environmental regulation goes, we are better off than we were fifty years ago. We would hope that novels like Rachel Carson’s ground-shifting Silent Spring, a work chronicling the dangers of the U.S. chemical industry, have made enough of an effect to prevent the author’s dystopian predictions from becoming a … Continue reading "Politicizing a Tragedy, 30 Years after Bhopal"

As the Ebola outbreak has progressed, public discourse of the matter has reached a fever pitch. From announcements that airports will screen for the disease to coverage of the growing number of cases in Dallas, we are inundated with coverage of the outbreak. And as some call for the closure of borders and bans on … Continue reading "Misinformation in the Age of Ebola"

Over the past two weeks, reports of a Liberian man with Ebola being treated in Dallas have captivated our public discourse. Some worry that this may be a “Patient Zero” situation, and that the outbreak will soon transcend borders to become a global epidemic. While this fervor has taken place at home, however, even more … Continue reading "Ebola: No Longer a Microscopic Problem"

We’ve all heard of dumpster divers. We’ve heard the stories about pulling perfectly edible food from supermarket trash cans and restaurant dumpsters. But who knew the lifestyle could be not only practical, but successful?

What does it mean to be on the right side of history? It’s easy to look into the past and see where the line has been drawn.  It has been found in leaders who have initiated social progress; those with strong convictions and stronger actions, who have stopped at nothing to improve the societies they … Continue reading "When Being Right is Not Enough"

Much has been said of the markedly high rates of sexual assaults on college campuses. While the conversations all point to different solutions to the problem, many revolve around the same source: the disproportionate amount of sexual assaults committed within fraternities.

Few events are as captivating of the human imagination as the apocalypse. Whether seen in ancient religious texts or modern novels and video games, on some level it seems we’re all concerned with and captivated by how it’s all going to end. But when such a fascination begins to reflect real life, are there any ethical … Continue reading "Apocalypse Now: Hollywood and the End of the World"

The politics surrounding treatment of homeless populations has long been an area of ethically problematic legislation. The latest conflict in this trend can be seen in Hawaii, where officials are considering legislation that will move the homeless away from tourist areas. The proposals will also criminalize “sitting, lying down, defecating and urinating on sidewalks in … Continue reading "Trouble in paradise? Hawaii’s homeless population faces problematic legislation"

The Prindle Institute is excited to welcome Piper Kerman, author of Orange Is the New Black, to campus in February as part of the Ubben Lecture series. Stay tuned for programming that we are putting together to lead up to her visit!

By now, most people have heard that nude photos of nearly 100 celebrities, including actress Jennifer Lawrence, were stolen and posted to the internet by a hacker. The resultant leak has sparked both an FBI investigation and significant public outcry. On one hand, it is relatively easy to evaluate the morality of the hacker’s actions. But do … Continue reading "The Celebrity Nude Leak: What’s in a View?"

In light of recent discussions on campus, I’d like to offer up my own understanding of privilege.

There is a certain truth to the saying, “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” After all, practically everyone, man and woman alike, enjoys a good meal now and then. However, the immense sociocultural power of food is not limited to trite, gendered stereotypes. In fact, it offers one of the most … Continue reading "Food, Ethics, and Culture"