Monica Marks, Rhodes Scholar, you uplift the spirit of UofL. You are indeed one of those who has achieved the American Dream that is so often a myth for most of our people. I salute your aim to become a human rights lawyer (we need more of them and far fewer corporate sycophants). I also applaud your dad for rising above narrow religious boundaries in encouraging your education–one you used so fully and wonderfully.

That 63% of our teachers care enough about hungry kids to give them food money is both a compliment to the teachers and an unmitigated shame on our society. America needs to face the fact that almost 1/4 of our youth go hungry every day–in the wealthiest nation ever. It is a nation of two worlds–one for the rich, one for the poor. It is a nation that should begin to address its wider social, economic and political problems (which are huge) and stop blaming schools and teachers for what the public and its pols are too gutless to change. Do we really care about our kids, especially other people’s children? Or do we believe more in apartheid?