If you can see i cannot do anything about the space. Theres some room on the floor. Feel free to make yourself comfortable. This is our session on public intellectuals, and i am delighted to be here for this panel. I apologize ahead of time if i have a little less energy than usual. My appendix did not quite make it to the new year so i am just recovering from surgery. This has been a big debate, ongoing debate about public intellectuals in the academy. There was an article by Nicholas Kristof which triggered a conversation. He wrote an article professors we need you are cope he argued that many people in the academy have in some ways render themselves irrelevant for various reasons using languages fall of jargon or revocation or not asking questions that were relevant to the public, and in some ways fostered a disconnect with the public that is unnecessary and is also unfortunate. He did not say this was true of all intellectuals, but he did argue that public intellectuals are in some
People forget. But i do think now that there is a possibility of a sustained longerterm effort to slowly start to undo the policies. And as we change policies and people understand that crime rates are not going to spike up it changes peoples hearts and minds around incarceration and offers better, more Productive Solutions that actually do a better job of protecting our Public Safety. Im committed to this work. It is all the work ive ever done actually since graduating, and i think that really the moment of opportunity is now. Our lives again to end the day we become silent about the things that matter. That is a quote from Martin Luther king, jr. Out of keep on my wall, and i absolutely think that is the case. Im very fortunate that he been able to devote my career to working on issues that i think about it. I think it matters that there is tremendous human devastation and brought out of unnecessary incarceration in this country. I think it is terrible that we treat children with suc