Summer assignment

During the Thursday of Welcome Week, each LAS100 section is invited to a SHU faculty, staff, or community member's house for dinner.  After dinner all students will participate in a guided discussion of our common read book: What the Eyes Don't See

To fully participate in the discussion, your first classroom assignment is to be submitted to your FYE Instructor at Dinner & Book Discussion on Thursday, August 27.

Flint was already a troubled city in 2014 when the state of Michigan—in the name of austerity—shifted the source of its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Soon after, citizens began complaining about the water that flowed from their taps—but officials rebuffed them, insisting that the water was fine. Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician at the city’s public hospital, took state officials at their word and encouraged the parents and children in her care to continue drinking the water—after all, it was American tap water, blessed with the state’s seal of approval.  But a conversation at a cookout with an old friend, leaked documents from a rogue environmental inspector, and the activism of a concerned mother raised red flags about lead—a neurotoxin whose irreversible effects fall most heavily on children. Even as circumstantial evidence mounted and protests grew, Dr. Mona knew that the only thing that could stop the lead poisoning was undeniable proof—and that to get it, she’d have to enter the fight of her life.  What the Eyes Don’t See is a riveting, beautifully rendered account of a shameful disaster that became a tale of hope, the story of a city on the ropes that came together to fight for justice, self-determination, and the right to build a better world for their—and all of our—children. 

Assignment:
You are to choose one of the themes from this book to write a paper or create a piece of artwork based on one of the books themes.  During Dinner and Book you will discuss your paper or artwork with your LAS100 class.