Community Matters

Tom O'Connell teaches at Metropolitan State University and has been a long-time activist for social justice.

The BP oil spill: Shocking, but will it lead to change?

By Tom O Connell

The BP oil spill has galvanized much of the nation.  Concern about its human and environmental impact combines almost seamlessly with speculation on the political and policy effects of the cataclysm.

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Celebrating settlement houses—and Jane Addams

By Tom O Connell

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Jane Addam's masterpiece, Twenty Years at Hull House. The book, never out of print, has achieved a kind of iconic status in American letters, perhaps more celebrated than understood.  Until the past decade or so, the same could be said about Jane Addams.

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