First proposal submitted while students protest.
A strange combination of activities today.
Claudio and I have been working on a proposal together regarding the role of invasive riparian vegetation on sediment transport and channel form. This is relatively new to me but I find it interesting stuff and have been glad to have good reason to read more of that literature. I also spent a chunk of time adding final defense comments to Amy's awesome thesis (successfully defended yesterday!) about the how thawing permfrost and thermal erosion features alter the biogeochemistry and physical properties of soils. A productive day.
This was contrasted with some relatively tame student protests on campus. From my office I can hear clashing sounds, the trill of whistles and the cries of crowds. The university is closed by I am hiding out in my office, getting work done. Outside I see folks walking around with their clothes of handkerchiefs pulled up over their faces to lessen the effect of the tear gas that I can ever-so-slightly detect up on the 4th floor. Never have I felt more in an Ivory Tower. Here are some shots of riot police and their vehicles outside my window. Nothing dramatic. Certainly there have been more dramatic clashes in the past (well documented here), but not today.
Certainly there have been more dramatic clashes in the past (well documented here), but not today. This is an image from the link above (Flicker user sin.fronteras) just outside my building in 2011. Today, all is calm. No flaming riot vehicles.
To be honest, I am happy to see students taking a more proactive role in acting out for their interests (here the main focus is on education reform in order to increase access to quality public education). I don't like the violence but do support the marches and protests that cause disruption, without damage. As is true anywhere, it seems that there are a portion of the population that are looking for a reason to fight the authorities, regardless of the rationale. The more aggressive faction of these seem to be just out for the thrill of it. Clearly I am no expert on this, but at least now, at the beginning, these protests are more intriguing than frustrating.
Claudio and I have been working on a proposal together regarding the role of invasive riparian vegetation on sediment transport and channel form. This is relatively new to me but I find it interesting stuff and have been glad to have good reason to read more of that literature. I also spent a chunk of time adding final defense comments to Amy's awesome thesis (successfully defended yesterday!) about the how thawing permfrost and thermal erosion features alter the biogeochemistry and physical properties of soils. A productive day.
This was contrasted with some relatively tame student protests on campus. From my office I can hear clashing sounds, the trill of whistles and the cries of crowds. The university is closed by I am hiding out in my office, getting work done. Outside I see folks walking around with their clothes of handkerchiefs pulled up over their faces to lessen the effect of the tear gas that I can ever-so-slightly detect up on the 4th floor. Never have I felt more in an Ivory Tower. Here are some shots of riot police and their vehicles outside my window. Nothing dramatic. Certainly there have been more dramatic clashes in the past (well documented here), but not today.
Certainly there have been more dramatic clashes in the past (well documented here), but not today. This is an image from the link above (Flicker user sin.fronteras) just outside my building in 2011. Today, all is calm. No flaming riot vehicles.
To be honest, I am happy to see students taking a more proactive role in acting out for their interests (here the main focus is on education reform in order to increase access to quality public education). I don't like the violence but do support the marches and protests that cause disruption, without damage. As is true anywhere, it seems that there are a portion of the population that are looking for a reason to fight the authorities, regardless of the rationale. The more aggressive faction of these seem to be just out for the thrill of it. Clearly I am no expert on this, but at least now, at the beginning, these protests are more intriguing than frustrating.