Below is a list aimed at helping you consider how to link the broad idea of "social movements" to "close to home" concerns here in Colorado.

You are not required to work with such a lens, quite the contrary, but should you choose to I think it sets you up well to tailor your thoughts to a local publication that might be more willing to publish them than a larger, national outlet. So, to the extent this list is helpful, use it. If it distracts you, dismiss it. 

What follows are ideas that somehow suture local concerns to larger social movements and exigencies. 

• Rocky Flats. Just south of Boulder, this is a contested site for the environmental movement, native rights movements, the Cold War, and the nuclear disarmament movement. A fairly recent book on the subject can be found here. (Links to an external site.) Think pieces and histories of this nearby place abound. 
• Native Rights. I'm here thinking about those "Native" bumper stickers we see around Boulder. What does it mean, do we think, for white folks to appropriate this word on their cars in town? On the one hand, this surely signals frustration with rising rent displacing people who were born here, but how does it intersect with the historical and present silencing and removal of Native Americans?
• Slow Food. A few of you have already brought this up. Consider Boulder Food Rescue, similar projects in Denver, and even restaurant models like Kimball Musk's (yes, brother to Elon) in Boulder like The Kitchen, The Kitchen Next Door, and The Kitchen Upstairs. It would be particularly neat if one of y'all could swing an interview with Musk. 
• The Boulder Six/ Los Seis De Boulder. An until-recently-forgotten sextuple murder in Boulder that targeted Chicanx activists and students. Recent student public artwork on campus (Links to an external site.) addresses this.  
• Sugar Tax. Related to several "food" movements, does a move toward sin-taxing sugar intersect with larger social movements, say, about health? What about poverty and low-income Colorado residents? 
• Weed. Colorado is an intensely resonant node in this conversation. How, I wonder, might this intersect with conversations, on the one hand, about federally regulated substances but, on the more important other hand, movements for prison reform, non-violent offender sentencing, and the possibilities for restorative justice for targets of "the war on drugs" now that the same "drugs" aren't any more? Do we have a responsibility to redress these sentences?
• TABOR. SeeSamantha Bee's episode (Links to an external site.)on this. Features the lovely line, Colorado is "Wakanda for white people."
• Guns. Colorado is a tragic locus for national conversations on guns. These, as you may expect, go both ways. Last year March For Our Lives and Road To Change (both Parkland related) came through to register voters in Denver. Organizations like the Northern Colorado Tea Party protested. Either direction here or a blend of both perspectives could be fruitful to think about. 
• Climate Strike. Happened on campus and nation-wide last semester. Anyone got an angle on this? Anyone participate? Anyone talk to the press?
• 1960s Psychedelia and Hippie Movement. I don't know much about this, so I would love your take here. How does our history relate to the larger culture wars fomenting during this decade?
• Fracking. A very close to home concern. Here's a fun hot take. (Links to an external site.)
• Socialist movement and Labor Unions. On campus, in Boulder, and nationally socialism and unions have arrived back into the national conversation. CU Boulder has a very active and largely consequential Committee for Rights and Compensation for its graduate instructors (e.g. ya boy). I'm sure the CRC's leadership would be thrilled to talk with some of y'all.
• Purple State Colorado. How does Trumpism intersect (or not) with places like Boulder and Denver (quite blue on the map) when compared with Colorado at large (red apart from these metro areas)?
• Minimum Wage. My first job paid me $5.50 an hour. National conversations are for $15.00 now. There are wage strictures in place in Boulder and Colorado - anything you want to dig into here?
• Boulder Pride & LGBTQIA rights. Boulder Pride happened at the bandshell off Broadway last semester, and during June downtown got real rainbow-clad. Great things, but there's still no gay bar in Boulder. What to say about this disconnect? The bar industry is heavily regulated in Boulder - does this conjuncture bring up talking points?
• Housing Crisis. Across Boulder and Denver, folks experiencing homelessness are disproportionately ticketed in Boulder compared to Denver (e.g. illegal camping). How do rent raises, open spaces, low-income housing, etc. factor in?
• Bees and pollinators.
• Campus Sexual Violence. It has been over a year since the Blasey Ford/Kavanaugh Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Increasingly, universities struggle with protecting students, punishing offenders, delegating authority to the police, etc. Start researching here.Links to an external site.
• Immigration and Sanctuary Cities. Here's a link. (Links to an external site.)
• Black Lives Matter. Boulder PD and a Naropa student (Links to an external site.) recently made national headlines bringing up, again, the reality of police discrimination. 
• Coachella. A lot of your friends wear native headdresses to music festivals. This is an opportunity for critical reflection.  (Links to an external site.)
• Native and Animal Mascotting. We have a live animal mascot. Other mascots in the U.S. are racist caricatures of native folks. Do these intersect? Are we ethical to have a live animal mascot?
• The Alt Right. Last year or maybe the year before, the Proud Boys (Links to an external site.) protested here in Boulder.
• "Slums of Aspen" is a great case study (Links to an external site.) at the intersections of the environment, labor, housing, and wealth.
• I.C.E. is right next door. (Links to an external site.) The kids in cages arguments are not hypothetical. 
• NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch came to campus last semester. This intersects with the topic below:
• "Free Speech" on campus. Here I'm thinking about national conversations surrounding controversial campus speakers like Ann CoulterLinks to an external site. and Milo Yiannopoulos.