No matter where you come from or where you stand, this semester has been an intense one. Political tensions over issues such as institutional racism, a disturbingly divisive election season, and sustained demonstrations on campus have scattered the community and made it difficult to keep track of events and their nuances. At The Grail believe it’s critical to do our part in reestablishing constructive dialogue and making sure a variety of voices and perspectives are represented and heard. How have this semester’s political events, demonstrations, and tensions shaped our community? We asked student protest organizers, staff, faculty, administrators, and students currently taking Hum 110 in an attempt to find an answer.

Sustainability is primarily associated with environmentalism, but it encompasses so much more. Any institution, be it collegiate or otherwise, needs to keep a balanced focus on all three pillars of sustainability: environmental, yes, but also social and economic. Reed’s sustainability coordinator (yes, it’s an actual position at Reed!), Bellamy Brownwood, along with environmental groups on campus and around the Pacific Northwest, spent a weekend working together at a conference of the Climate Cascade Network to attempt to tackle problems of environmentalism and activism.