10th Practical Activism Conference coincides with College Ten's 10th anniversary

Angela Davis, UC Santa Cruz distinguished professor emerita, will be the keynote speaker at the 10th Practical Activism Conference Saturday, October 20 at Colleges Nine and Ten on the UCSC campus. 

The annual student-organized conference features workshops on organizing and social issues and will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the College Nine/Ten multipurpose room.

The conference's anniversary coincides with College Ten's 10th anniversary and its theme of social justice and community. A reception is scheduled after the conference's conclusion to celebrate the anniversary. College Ten alumni and students are invited.

Practical Activism "is very much a student organized conference," said provost Helen Shapiro. "It is a major, significant event for College Ten," she said, and students began planning the event in the spring.

College Ten is UCSC's newest college. Many of its most active alums are expected to return to celebrate the anniversary, Shapiro said.

Two sessions of workshops are scheduled with a variety of topics including UCSC budget cuts and retention, education and incarceration, sustainable agriculture, resource extraction, transgender healthcare, LGBT legislation, anti-immigrant legislation, social media for social justice, reproductive rights, and mental and psychological disabilities.

Also speaking are several UCSC professors and community members; also, Terisa Tinei Siagatonu, a College Ten alumna who is a spoken word artist, arts educator, and community organizer from the Bay Area. A complete list of workshop times and participants can be found at http://activism.ucsc.edu.

Davis's address is scheduled for the opening session between 11:45 a.m. and 12:50 p.m. Davis joined UCSC in 1984 as a lecturer in the history of consciousness. She was appointed professor in 1991 and served as chair of the Feminist Studies Department from 2003-2006. She retired four years ago but continues to speak and teach.

Davis is known internationally for her work to combat oppression in the United States and abroad. She has been active as a student, teacher, writer, scholar, and activist/organizer.