On February 15, over 350 students, professors, and community members gathered at the Humanities Lecture Hall to hear James Fadiman speak about psychedelic drugs.

Van Jones visits UC Santa Cruz to present his “Rebuild the Dream” organization.

On Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. in the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, Nikki Giovanni — world-renowned poet and writer, storyteller, English professor, civil rights activist and commentator — will speak on “The Privilege of Serving: Art and the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.”

The UCSC Distinguished Alumna of the Year spoke at the Namaste Lounge to a crowd of LALS and politics students, some of whom crowded on the floor around the Council on Foreign Relations guru.

The Monterey Bay fosters a growing movement toward organics and away from corporate factory farms. Local agriculture specialists sat on a panel last week and discussed trends and predictions regarding food production and dissolution.

Philosopher, author, civil rights activist and actor Dr. Cornel West spoke at this year’s Speaker Blowout event. West lectured on race, gender, class and social justice in America.

Assembly member Bill Monning spoke to students, faculty and community members about strategies to balance California’s budget in a Q&A and open discussion at UC Santa Cruz’s Namaste Lounge last Thursday. The audience raised questions about the possibility of California Democrats voting for an all-cuts budget and other finance-related topics.

Susanna Helke, a Finnish director based in Helsinki, visited the campus this past week and screened two short films, both of which played with the notions of narrative and documentary, fact and fiction.

Greg Laughlin speaks about his work uncovering planets, including those very much like Earth, in other solar systems, at the 10th Annual Halliday Lecture.