Iain Gillespie and Anna Brittan, BSSCD, win Charles Moran Best Text Awards for Junior Year Writing

Two UMass LARP students, Iain Gillespie and Anna Brittan, were selected as winners of the UMass Amherst Writing Program's 2024 Charles Moran Best Text Contest for Junior Year Writing. Gillespie and Brittan, both from the Sustainable Community Development program, received awards for essays written in Professor Joseph Fritsch's Junior Year Writing class.

All the winning essays will be published in the Writing Program's Best Text Collection, available later this summer.

For the past couple of years, I’ve been fascinated by the sustainability (or rather lack thereof) of economic and urban growth. In this piece I use the case of Copenhagen – an oft-cited “sustainable” city – to show how continued efforts at growth consistently undermine progress in shifting from cars to more efficient modes of transportation. Additionally, I touch upon the wider undesirability of growth, and the importance of more localized, slower-paced living environments in a sustainable future. It’s really cool to know that other people are interested in my research and ideas!

-Iain Gillespie

My paper examines how the food desert on Pine Ridge Reservation reflects the devastating legacy of settler colonialism and racial capitalism, resulting in systemic food insecurity and environmental injustice. I argue that true food justice on Pine Ridge requires Indigenous Food Sovereignty—a culturally grounded approach that restores autonomy and resilience through local food systems. The paper highlights both the structural roots of the crisis and the community-led efforts toward healing and self-determination, I’m incredibly grateful for this recognition. This affirms the importance of amplifying voices and stories that are often overlooked. This award encourages me to keep pursuing critical and community-oriented scholarship.

- Anna Brittan