Flint Exhibition promotes environmental awareness

Jordan Coll/Staff Writer

The fight for our environment has been an ongoing debate that has caused many to question the reality of the world we live in.

It’s important to become familiar with present social issues, especially those that deal with the survival of our species.

The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum is currently hosting the LaToya Ruby Frazier exhibition on the Michigan water crisis and its effects on residents.

The story behind Flint is one that to this day calls into question the water quality of the state, and has provoked new talks on environmental policy.

Water quality is something that affects us all.

Imagine waking up one morning, heading to the kitchen for some water, and seeing a brown, murky substance comes out of the tap.

This is exactly what Michigan residents had experienced in their homes.

Enduring those foul smells was nothing short of awful and immediate attention was desperately needed to the point of it becoming a state emergency.

The fact of the matter is we cannot allow ourselves to become indifferent to the global issues threatening our environment.

The LaToya Ruby Frazier exhibition reaches out to this sentiment of expressing the reality and afflictions Flint residents faced during the crisis.

Not many people consider how fortunate we are to live in a country where having clean water is a given.

But situations such as these allow us to become excessively comfortable, expecting no less than clean water wherever we go.

The Flint crisis serves as a wake up call.

One day our contamination could end up poisoning our water supply.

The exhibition orients students on the hardships faced in Flint. Each photo tells a different story of the crisis.

This exhibit is one I recommend students who want to grasp a much more personal perspective on how Flint residents felt.

“All these different issues tying the humanities, environmental and social issues all are what we encourage our exhibits to have for our students” says Maryanna Ramirez, Manager of Strategic Initiatives.

It’s more than just a gallery; it’s a living, breathing history.

“Through LaToya’s work I believe we can make social impact through simply making our students aware of the history itself” Ramirez mentions.

We cannot allow ourselves to become paralyzed out of fear because of the direction in which our environment is headed.

Instead we should allow ourselves the privilege to protect our planet.

The Michigan Flint crisis is a result of poor foresight; nor realizing the issue could have been avoided by putting aside our greed.

We have an obligation today to be better administrators, caretakers, and representatives of what we want our environment to look like in future generations.

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

Photo retrieved from FIU flickr.

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