Caitlin Schroering ‘09 walks the line between academia and activist as she pursues both a Ph.D and clean water resources.
In a first-person article published on PublicSource, Schroering discusses the difficulty of maintaining academic rigor and objectivity in her published work, while engaging her passion for clean water rights.
Ultimately, she found a way to honor both.
Schroering’s research area is the intersection of global water and social movements. As such, she’s traveled around the world to research and observe local conditions. When she heard there was lead in the water of her new hometown of Pittsburgh, she had a unique skill set to bring to the question.
But in the confluence of her research expertise and her passion to effect change in the local water systems, Schroering found she was conflicted.
She writes:
“I thought that to be a “good” scholar, to publish, to get a Ph.D., I had to separate — at least a little — my researcher self from my political work.
“I would show up early and stay late to events, helping with setting up and cleaning up. I would use my citizen role to speak at public meetings.
“But in the back of my mind was a nagging voice saying, “You aren’t doing this right. You need to be more objective, less engaged.”
“Yet, through my research in places outside Pittsburgh and the United States, it became clear that I could not separate my academic and political work. I saw how the same multinational corporations were seeking to extract, exploit and profit off of water everywhere. Politics and power are a part of everything, including who does and who does not have access to clean water. To be a ‘neutral’ academic is also a political choice.”
Schroering’s has been an effective community organizer on similar issues. That experience led her to become an activist to fight for clean water rights in Pittsburgh where she joined the Our Water Campaign.
Through “’people power,’ we changed the trajectory in Pittsburgh.” she says.
