Karl Hardy is a 28 year old graduate student studying social ecology. He has lived in South Bend since January of 2005, relocating to the area with his partner who recently completed her Master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, he attended high school in San Antonio, Texas where much of his immediate family lives.

Karl received his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Washington (Seattle). While an undergraduate student, he became very involved with both campus-based and community activist projects surrounding the WTO ministerial meetings of November 1999. Karl wrote a weekly column in the University of Washington’s student newspaper, served as a student senator, and student representative to the Student Publications Board among other positions. He was also coordinator of the Ruckus Collective, which produced an independent monthly student-produced progressive magazine called Ruckus.

After graduating with his BA in only 3 1/2 years, Karl lived in Charlottesville, Virginia for a time before returning to his adopted hometown of San Antonio, Texas. Before moving to South Bend, Karl was involved with the Bexar County Greens (San Antonio area), co-founded a community garden, and was involved in environmental justice and civil liberties citizens’ campaigns.

Karl believes that, as a human society, we face enormous social and ecological crises that require fundamental changes necessary for the reconstruction of a society that is egalitarian, ecological, and sustainable. He believes that democracy must be participatory and, ideally, should be decentralized to face-to-face direct democracy as it continues to be practiced in New England’s treasured town hall meetings. Furthermore, Karl supports the re-conception of our economy to reflect moral and ethical considerations as opposed to the amoral competition that dominates today’s society. Finally, Karl is a strong believer in the need for human society to develop an ecological ethic that speaks to the inherent interdependence of both humanity and the non-human world.

To find out more about Karl’s platform, please go here.