In this month’s issue of Labor Notes, UM alum and former Michigan Independent writer Paul Abowd reports on the organizing efforts of labor and anti-sweatshop activists at the University of North Carolina (UNC). For years, the campus group Student Action with Workers (SAW) has been pushing UNC’s administration to stop purchasing university apparel from sweatshops. […]

I consider myself a fan of Dove’s campaign for real beauty. Initially though, when I first caught sight of their advertisements, I was less than impressed. I wasn’t alone. Many consumers have been calling Dove out for being overly self-congratulatory. Just because they use models with more meat than skeletons, can Dove really claim to […]

Crappy Michigan weather aside, last Thursday I was given another reason to want to move to California.  California legalized same sex marriage.  While this is a nationwide victory for lesbian and gay rights activists and proponents, there is still a long way to go and an increased risk of a nationwide backlash.   
My heightened spirits […]

Washington University in St. Louis plans to grant antifeminist Phyllis Schlafly an honorary doctorate at commencement on May 16. The decision to honor Schlafly has ignited much disapproval and protest. Why are people so worked up about this? The reasons are numerous, here are a few:

Schlafly describes her greatest accomplishment as having […]

Sunday is Mother’s Day! If you have forgotten, yes, you should be racked with guilt. Not to panic though, there’s still some time. Mother’s Day is the perfect opportunity for all to pay homage to the valuable—yet too often underappreciated— women in our lives.
The problem is- I never know what to get my […]

The Ann Arbor News printed an op-ed by Nerieda Guillian, member of the Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigrants Rights (WIRIC) and Master’s student in the School of Social Work. Guillian explains why the local Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) raids constitute as unlawful and violations of human rights.
Guillian closes with this: It’s […]

Did you notice a rumbling in the ground earlier this morning? It was an earthquake (that i slept through!!!)!!
Earthquake Safety Elmo brought to you by Flickr user kalavinka under a Creative Commons License. 

Earlier today, police broke up a party at the campus of the University of Michigan’s little brother. While the previous sentence comes as little surprise to any college student, this breakup resulted in the use of tear gas to disperse the unruly crowd. Police also arrested some 52 people, and ticketed 48 others. From one […]

Every year Architectural RECORD publicizes housing projects that they feel represent exemplary residential design. This year’s collection of houses proves to be fascinating once again. My favorite? Nora House, by Atelier Bow-Wow:

Check out the rest here.