The world is watching

Barbara Ransby, director of the UIC Social Justice Initiative, talks about the work of young social activists in Chicago and across the country in the Sept. 15 Chicago Tribune.

“Through social media and conventional media, the world is watching the struggles by poor people and people of color in Chicago, and many are taking inspiration from the courage and determination of Chicago activists.”

Barbara Ransby, director of the UIC Social Justice Initiative, on the work of young social activists in Chicago and across the country, Sept. 15 Chicago Tribune

“He had all of this pottery and stone tools from an ancient site he was working on in northern Europe, and it just blew me away. Archaeology is very tangible. It’s very stuff oriented.”

Field archeologist and UIC graduate Bill Parkinson on the guidance he received from anthropology professor Lawrence Keeley, who inspired Parkinson’s career path, Sept. 9 Chicago Tribune

“A lot of these kids, the first time they walk onto the fields there, it’s the first time they’ve ever stepped on a college campus. And you see kids who talk to each other and say, ‘Wow, this is what college looks like? This might be for me.’”

Curtis Granderson, UIC graduate and New York Mets outfielder, on what he hopes to accomplish in his work with youth baseball at UIC Granderson Stadium, Sept. 12 New York Post