This post, courtesy of Rhonda:
“I’ve been back to school a couple days now. Imagine my surprise when I saw plots of corn on the main student quad…they had sent out an email about it a couple days before students got back to school but I thought it was a little thing…with little corn but no…my school went ALL OUT! Different corn varieties grown under different circumstances. This for First Year Seminars; the various freshman college introductory courses will revolve around the book, “Omnivore’s Dilemma”, and the themes of agriculture, agricultural dependence, how we rely so heavy on corn and corn derived products, and the lack of variety among the stuff we grow. The hope to involve the whole college community, and the town of Easton in the project, needless to say…i thought of you and the article about The Oil We Eat (except this time its corn…).
http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~cornonthequad/creations.html
We have an actual camera to catch possible vandals. People have been sending the link to their parents and arranging times to go call people and wave at them through the corn cam…
Go to the cornblog section to see the corn cam!!! “

There are also tons of campus events going on around corn: a showing of the film King Corn, and “Corn Fest” events and speakers all day Sept. 10 in celebration of their harvest. (see below).

The idea is that the whole school reads the same book and not only do they talk about it, they generate events and action around its message. This year the book is Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Which is excellent reading, the talk of the town, and deserving of all the praise it’s gotten, as far as I’m concerned.

“Corn on the Quad Harvest Fest”: Wednesday, September 10 from 4:15 p.m. to about 6:45 p.m.

Come celebrate (and eat) our corn on the quad! Roasted corn, Native American dancers, Cherokee songs and drumming, storytelling, a no-face doll making demonstration and tables with posters and discussions about ethanol, corn genetics, corn and South American culture, campus composting, and solar panels. In case of rain: Farinon Center – Marlo Room

“How We Got Where We Are (with Corn) Today” Wednesday, September 10 from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the Gendebien Room, Skillman Library.

Corn has been implicated in slavery, colonialism, poverty, and obesity, at the same time that it is promoted as a panacea for hunger and even climate change. How did our individual and collective choices cause this humble grain of the Americas to become a global commodity, alternative fuel solution, and mutant pariah? Social science and humanities professors share their disciplines’ unique perspectives on contemporary environmental issues related to corn agriculture and its byproducts.