Civility is Overrated

Rutgers-Camden Honors Commencement speaker Dr. Jeffrey Brenner hit on some key these at his graduation speech, calling on students to engage in their civic responsibility after graduation. In doing so, he hit on the gutsy theme of suburb-city conflict, a particularly daring act considering that most Rutgers-Camden students and their parents are from South Jersey. … Continue reading Civility is Overrated

Community Voice: New Urbanism Meets South Jersey

One of the things I hear all the time in Camden is that the city suffers because of the plethora of cheap towns with high quality of life immediately surrounding it. This post by frequent reader and commenter @thegreengrass (Joseph Russell) lays out the case for “What South Jersey’s Doing Right,” which helps show why … Continue reading Community Voice: New Urbanism Meets South Jersey

Camden Chatter: Talking Groceries

“Camden Chatter” is a series of blog posts by Rutgers-Camden PhD Candidate Christopher Wheeler on the “chatter” on social media about Camden. Here are his thoughts on the past week’s top stories (Editor’s note: I know there’s some controversy over whether “food deserts” make definitional sense in cities because they undercount neighborhood groceries and that … Continue reading Camden Chatter: Talking Groceries

School Only Works if Students Consent

For the second straight day, students have walked out of classes in Camden high schools. That protest is quickly shifting from the warm and fuzzy of political action by youth, to something much more powerful and poignant. The Camden School District, like any institution, can only function with the consent of its members. It appears to … Continue reading School Only Works if Students Consent

Camden Students Deserve Rights and Power, not Dialogue

Yesterday, students from Camden’s high schools staged a walk out and marched to the Board of Education building for answers about teacher layoffs and other worries with the new direction the Camden School District is taking. There is great coverage from the Inquirer and the Courier-Post, on issues such as suspensions (after rumors that students … Continue reading Camden Students Deserve Rights and Power, not Dialogue