Bright Eyes, Open Minds

Robert Reich, as wonderful of an author as he is, reaches even more audiences by posting on his Facebook page about current happenings in the world and how he interprets them. He follows each post with a simple phrase: "What do you think?" I find that of all the books CST students were given as options for this project,   Saving Capitalism  was the most opinionated. Sure, you can easily file feminism, ableism, or climate change under the liberal umbrella, but Reich's ideas about the economy were clearly and indisputably left wing. I feel that the opinion he gives leaves little room for the reader to form his or her own, and to answer the very question Reich poses so often. It's more like an agree or disagree situation. Students also may have been predisposed to how they about Reich's ideas because the little voice in their head tells them they need to follow party lines. Alternatively, if a reader didn't already know of Reich's democratic affiliation,

The Prop Thtr was the closest thing to "hole in the wall" I have ever experienced. No, seriously. We drove past it twice. But once we went inside, it was evident that though small, the companies that performed there and the stories told were mighty. I was greeted at the ticket booth by two smiling women. When I asked the price of water, they responded that it's a dollar minimum donation and I could take any of the other food on the table too, including baked goods and candy. I donated, grabbed my water, and got ready to watch the show: "Wrecked," an original play written and directed by Sudanese woman Philister Sidigu. Kelsey and I outside the theater before the show. Photo taken by Ava Izenstark It was announced that there we no playbills because they are expensive, and the theatre company is just trying to do its best to keep telling stories. Having seen most of my theatre on Broadway or at GBN (what's the difference) I was not used to such a thing,

A research based look into how elite private universities perpetuate and grow the gap between the rich and the poor If you asked me what was on my mind at any point throughout the past two years, 7/10 times the answer would probably be college. It was (is?) my thing . Need help writing an essay? Filling out your common app? Finding the school with the best program for your major? Making a list of pros and cons? Yep, I can do all that while juggling kosher bolognas. I was basically a college counselor to many of my friends. Now, this obsession with my future came from a couple sources. The first would be both of my parents' high degrees (pun intended) of success: My mom has a B.A. from Vassar College, a J.D. from Boston University, and a Masters in Social Work from The University of Chicago. As evidenced by wee little Gillian's Michigan sweatshirt, college has been on my mind from a young age. Photo by my mom. My father has a B.A. and a J.D. both from the University

A   research based look into the concept of loopholes in the American economy.  If I'm being honest here, 108 pages into Robert Reich's examination of the current state of America's capitalist economy Saving Capitalism , reading this book scares the crap out of me. The money, government, and corporations...it's like a sad, inescapable iron triangle. Speaking of iron, I've been reminded repeatedly of Games Of Thrones throughout reading. The Lannisters make a point of being both the most powerful AND the wealthiest family in all of Westeros. Even in a fantasy world, it is evident that the two are irrevocably tied together. Tywin, Joffrey, and Cersei Lannister sit at the small council of the king. They have each killed, tortured and humiliated many beloved characters. But they always pay their debts. Source: HBO, directed by Alex Graves The Lannisters always seems to find a way out, or find a loophole if you will, similarly to many of the major corporati

Welcome to the start of CST Fourth Quarter here on Gillian Thinks Thoughts! It's been a long and exciting ride here, with different essays, posts about works we've studied in class, and of course, the SAMO's. Now, you'll be getting to follow a series of blogs focused on the book Saving Capitalism by Robert Reich, whose title is pretty self explanatory. This book, along with the four blogs, are part of a larger project we are completing in CST as our Semester 2 final, entitled Gallery of Conscience. For this project, we were given the option of many different non-fiction books covering many different social themes, from prostitution to ableism to the environment to feminism. I chose to read Saving Capitalism for a couple of reasons. The first, and simplest is that when I asked Josh to be my partner, he replied "Yeah, but we have to do the capitalism book. I already bought it." Robert Reich, a professor of Public Policy at the University of California Berk

We hopped on the crowded train, bright and early at 7:30am. It was jam-packed with other women and inspiring posters galore. One woman on our car passed around donuts and coffee (yes, to complete strangers). The train conductor didn't charge anyone for the ride, and later announced that this would be an express train due to the high volume of riders. Sarah, Erin, Bryn, and I looked at each other with fluttering excitement, knowing this would not be a day to forget and would go down in history ("This will be an APUSH key term one day!"). This welcoming experience on the train was just the beginning of the pride I felt toward being a woman on this day: January 21st 2017, the day after Donald Trump's inauguration: The Women's March. A foggy morning on the March as we walked to Grant Park. Photo by me on iPhone 6.  Even the trek to the route of the march was full of life. Interesting people of all creeds and colors were walking on both sides of the street, eve