Last Friday I woke up at 6:30 a.m. I like to make my breakfast before I catch the train to Philly for my student teaching placement. When I groggily traipsed into the Danawell kitchen where I keep my smoothie ingredients and blender,
I begin this counter-response to Zac Arestad’s op-ed response “Swarthmore as a college” to my op-ed “Swarthmore as a nation state” with my gratitude for the time and thought Arestad put into critiquing my arguments. I would like to thank him for
Swarthmore is an educational institution that encourages enlightenment and critical thinking. Yet, at the same time, it is mired in structural racism, patriarchy, and capitalist hegemony. We seek to make our home here and expect to find love but are perpetually rejected.
Throughout the fall semester of my freshman year, I chose to refrain from engaging in any activist clubs, including Mountain Justice. I had worked on human rights issues throughout high school and wanted to focus on myself and try something new, like