SUNY Orange, "If you have the dream, we have the way!"SUNY Orange

Lee Hunter

In the 60s I attended Georgia Southern College majoring in psychology and anthropology. In 1967 my anthropology professor assigned the class to scour the countryside 'confiscating' artifacts that reflected the state's racist history. A lot of bathroom and water fountain signs were stolen. These were shaped into an exhibit piece. It was an invigorating time, even in rural Georgia. We were able to open a coffee house, travel to several civil rights marches, and meet Rev. King.

Lee Hunter on CamelIn 1969 I became one of the first graduate students studying humanistic psychology at West Georgia College. Grad students lived together in a community and offered week-end therapy groups for people from Atlanta. It was an alternative program with no tests. We all discovered that we learned much more when we were responsible for our own experiences. By 1973 I had a Master's Degree and was teaching psychology in downtown Baltimore. In 1977 I moved to Boston to study sociology of education at Boston University and earned my doctoral degree in 1983. My dissertation dealt with the impact of mass production methods on school lessons aimed at teaching children how to handle their money. Instead of saving, they were supposed to spend wisely. That would keep the economy going. While in Boston my daughter Risë was born and I worked with my wife as co-manager of a private psychiatric halfway house

I devoted a lot of time in my life to music. In the 60s I was part of the folk music scene in Atlanta. At times during the 70s and 80s I traveled around the country collecting songs inspired by events in U.S. history like World Wars I and II, the Great Depression, the Space Race, the Cold War, etc. I would sing the songs at colleges, museums, and historical sites and I recorded two cassettes for sale at museums and historical sites. My wife and I now orient our lives around two priorities - teaching classes and traveling to the far corners of the planet - Australia, China, Costa Rica, Thailand, Egypt, Ecuador, Peru, and Cambodia. No classy hotels or beach lounging. We travel by public transport and sleep in backpacker hotels or jungle eco-lodges. I am trying to learn how to take good photographs of ancient sites and jungle wildlife.

Every semester I teach SOC 101, the introductory course, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I offer SOC 120, Social Problems. This class focuses on the crises caused by the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the super-rich who use their money to control politicians and make billions for themselves manipulating global markets. We all lose. Americans need a good health care system and better schools. College should be inexpensive and full of exciting and challenging courses.