THE MEREDITH
HERALD
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November 7, 2018
IN THIS ISSUE
NEWS
Transgender Rights
A4E's Fall Festival
A&E
MCGs Welcome RBG
So Many Monsters
OPINIONS
A Lake by Any Other Name
Cornhuskin' Results
Midterm Election Results
Migrant Workers:
The True Cost of
Farm Labor in the
U.S.
By Megan Evans and
Kim Schuh, Contributing
Writers
As the crisp, cool air of au
tumn rolls in, the scent of pumpkin-
spiced lattes, candles, and soap make
their brief, annual appearance. The
question arises, just where exactly do
pumpkins come from? And not only
pumpkins, but where exactly does
all of our food come from? Migrant
workers continue to work diligently
to harvest crops so that we may con
tinue to enjoy the simple pleasures
that autumn brings. Migrant workers’
efforts must not go unnoticed, and
as consumers, it is important to have
a basic understanding of who har
vests our food. It is no surprise that
farmworkers’ jobs include cultivating
and harvesting agriculture; however,
what may come as a surprise to many
are the various conditions that they
endure, including working extremely
long hours in hazardous labor condi
tions for relatively low pay in an
unfamiliar environment. While there
are some farms that uphold suitable
working and living conditions, it is
also important to note that majority
of the working and living conditions
are similar to the ones explained in
this article.
According to a book called
The Human Cost of Food, a signifi
cantly higher amount of work-related
injuries have been reported in the
agricultural industry than any other
industry due to the relentless and
pressing physical demands of agricul
tural labor, including operating heavy
machinery, performing backbreaking
tasks, and carrying overweight loads
in too degree heat. Migrant workers
endure these challenges while only
being allotted two fifteen-minute wa
ter breaks and a thirty minute lunch
break on a ten to twelve hour shift
and while being exposed to pesti
cides and other harmful substances,
which have both short-term and
Phenomenal Women
By Jenna Curia, Staff Writer
warrior, whose accomplishments
qualified her long before she came
back to Meredith as its first alumna
president. Allen attributes her
This semester, the School of
Arts and Humanities is exploring a
Woman Warriors series that focuses
on the idea of who a woman warrior
is, what she aspires to do, and how
she sees the world. After discussing
the theme of woman warriors
with several faculty members and
students, an obvious favorite came
to mind: Dr. Kelly Morris Roberts,
associate professor of English. When
asked about the influential women
warriors in her life, she accolades
Meredith’s own Dr. Betty Webb.
“I had several mentors all the way
throughout my childhood and young
adulthood who always developed the
best in me. Another was my mother,
who taught me to value each and
every human being and to pursue
service to something far greater
than yourself.” Women warriors,
according to Roberts, inspire us
to “embrace every opportunity
that we’ve been given and value
every person and experience
in life.” Roberts specializes in
autobiographical reflection because
of her passion for helping students
value their lived experiences through
writing.
Coincidentally—or maybe
not—another faculty member credits
a long line of Meredith women
warriors as key to the understanding
of how this series has played out
in her own life. Dr. Jo Allen is a
graduate of Meredith and a woman
strength to the competent women
coming from a line of her own vital
mentors. Allen states that “many
think you can only have one mentor,
but it really does take a village of
different people in different areas at
different times to establish leaders.”
She credits the same professor.
Dr. Betty Webb, while recalling a
moment during her freshman year
at Meredith when Webb, her faculty
advisor, proclaimed that her young
student had a real flare for writing.
“That moment changed everything,”
according to Allen, and she earned a
bachelor’s degree in English to prove
it.
Allen shares that her mentors
have woven in and out of her life at
different times, but she knows she
or hardness. I want to be stronger
without becoming hard, cruel, or
heartless... and I have to maintain
my sense of humor. When people
get hurt or embarrassed, it’s easy to
feel like it’s a big deal in the moment.
But being a woman warrior means
knowing what to apologize for, what
to remedy, and what to learn from
and just let go. Women warriors not
only know their strengths, but they
work their strengths, and we have
to be able to make mistakes without
dragging ourselves under. Resilience
is key to being a warrior.”
Dr. Sarah Roth, dean of
the School of Arts and Humanities
explains that “Everyone has her
own ideas about what it means to
be a woman warrior. This year, we
are exploring the topic of women
warriors from multiple angles - visual
art, performing arts, humanities, and
social sciences. We’re encouraging
students to join in the conversation
around campus by sharing their own
thoughts on women warriors through
expression boards in the library,
an essay contest, and participation
in the many events that the Arts
& Humanities departments will
be hosting throughout the year.”
Additionally, Roberts recommends
these memoirs, fiction, and
biographies that provide a great deal
of thought behind the essence of a
woman warrior.
Dr. Betty Webb
Photo courtesy of Dr. Kelly Roberts
Dr. Kelly Roberts
Photo courtesy of herself
can always pick up the phone
and call them. “Those are the
relationships that I hope students
find at Meredith, because in my
opinion, it’s going to be women
who change the world.” She defines
woman warriors as people who “do
not confuse strength with meanness
Educated: A Memoir by Tara
Westover
Unbowed: A Memoir by
Wangari Maathai
Sing, Unburied, Sing by
Jesmyn Ward
The Glass Castle by Jeanette
Walls
The Immortal Life of Henrietta
Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Finding the Game by Gwen
Oxenham
long-term effects on workers’ health.
The exposure of pesticides
and other harmful chemicals yields
immediate reactions including
nausea, vomiting, dizziness, head
aches, rashes, and burns, as well
as long-term reactions including
cancer, sterility, reproductive risks
and potential birth defects for the
babies of pregnant women. The lack
of knowledge and awareness of the
dangers from the workplace serve as
contributing factors to such health
and safety risks. The US Environ
mental Protection Agency enacted
the Worker Protection Standards of
1992 to protect farmworkers from
potentially dangerous exposure via
training and provide workers with in
formation regarding the dangers. But
oftentimes, most farmworkers receive
little or no training.
Child labor also raises ethical
concerns. According to the article
“Protecting Children from Pesticides:
Information for Parents,” pesticide
exposure among children remains
a growing concern and provides a
greater risk for children because their
internal organs are still developing
and maturing. Oftentimes, children
work alongside in the fields with
their parents or play in the fields
while their parents are at work be
cause proper childcare is not afford
able. Children as young as 12 years
old are legally permitted to work in
agriculture outside of school hours
with parental consent. It is com
mon for children to typically work
between 10 to 12 hours per day while
also attending school full time. Many
children work during the summer,
before and after school hours, and on
the weekends to make money to help
financially support their families.
These poor working condi
tions and risk of poor hygiene serve
as a breeding ground for the spread
of copious diseases among work
ers. While growers are required to
provide housing for migrant workers,
housing is subpar and overcrowded,
thus also contributing to the spread
of diseases. Farms are located in
rural areas, often physically isolating
workers. Workers often have limited
or no means of transportation except
when their employers drive them
to the store or laundry mat. Accord
ing to The Human Cost of Food, when
migrant workers do get injured or
sick, they do not seek care until it is
absolutely necessary and by then it
is too late because of fear of missing
work and not getting paid and/or not
receiving health care coverage.
In addition to working long
hours and being exposed to hazard
ous conditions, migrant laborers
receive relatively low pay with no
overtime due to the fluctuation of
demand time for workers based on
weather conditions. When Hurricane
Florence hit North Carolina earlier
this month, farm laborers worked
endless hours to prepare for the hur
ricane by gathering the crops that
were deemed adequate enough
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