Common Text
During their time on campus, the Class of 2027 will think deeply about how they can
become ethical leaders and promote justice in the diverse communities in which they
live and serve. To support this personal development, we have selected What the Eyes Don’t See by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha as the 2023-2024 Loyola University Maryland Common Text.
Loyola faculty members, administrators, and students chose this book largely because of the message the book offers about leadership, advocacy, and caring for our common home. What The Eyes Don’t See will challenge all members of our community to examine our identities and values while considering societal issues such as environmental justice, systemic racism, and the role of government in our lives.
What The Eyes Don’t See promises an introduction to the depth of thought, imagination, and challenge you can expect from your time at Loyola. We look forward to reading along with you and entering a conversation that enlightens and enriches your college experience. Members of the Class of 2027 will receive a copy of What The Eyes Don’t See at summer orientation. Those not attending an in-person orientation session will receive a code to their Loyola e-mail to redeem an e-book in late June. The text will be integrated into class discussions and programming throughout your first-year experience.
Here is the inspiring story of how Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, alongside a team of researchers, parents, friends, and community leaders, discovered that the children of Flint, Michigan, were being exposed to lead in their tap water—and then battled her own government and a brutal backlash to expose that truth to the world. Paced like a scientific thriller, What the Eyes Don’t See reveals how misguided austerity policies, broken democracy, and callous bureaucratic indifference placed an entire city at risk. And at the center of the story is Dr. Mona herself—an immigrant, doctor, scientist, and mother whose family’s activist roots inspired her pursuit of justice. What the Eyes Don’t See is a riveting account of a shameful disaster that became a tale of hope, the story of a city on the ropes that came together to fight for justice, self-determination, and the right to build a better world for their—and all of our—children.
