In case you missed it, Prof. Alison Piepmeier (English & Women’s Studies) published an op-ed piece in the Charleston City Paper, “Confronting Segregation in Charleston: An Invitation” in which she encourages us all to step out of our comfort zones in order to engage and support local events that we might otherwise ignore or miss. Piepmeier wrote this piece after attending–and thoroughly enjoying–the Palmetto Invitational, a band competition and fundraiser organized by the Burke Band Booster Club for scholarships for Burke High School students. Her invitation “to try something new” reminds us how important it is, as residents and citizens of the Lowcountry, to strengthen and improve our commitment to the local community and to one another.