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Recent Blog Post
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Elevator or Stairs?
(Image by nakataza92 from Pixabay) (Image by No Way from Pixabay) At the start of each semester at Austin Community College, across our 11-soon-to-be-12 campuses, we have Welcome Tables for the first two days that are positioned at main entrances. Faculty, staff, and administrators all sign up for shifts, and we have great fun welcoming new…
Latest Blog Posts
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Divide and Conquer
One of the key throughlines from my time in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa, was the theme of division. Division was an evil and malicious tool that supported minority white rule both before and during apartheid. Division was seen everywhere – tribal divisions, race-based divisions, urban vs. rural divisions, economic divisions, educational divisions, access…
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Robben Island
I struggle to find the words to describe Robben Island. If it doesn’t sound familiar, Robben Island is in Table Bay, a few miles off Cape Town, South Africa. It has a centuries-long history as a penal colony, and from the mid-1840s to the 1930s it also housed what was known as a leper colony.…
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South Africans in Six Descriptors
Having arrived home from South Africa on April 11, I have taken some time to try to process our experiences in Johannesburg and Cape Town. One of the most difficult, distressing, and uplifting museums that we visited in Johannesburg was the Apartheid Museum. When you enter you are given a ticket that randomly classifies you…