The first pre-election debate in several years is scheduled for May 14 and aims to spotlight candidates’ stances on key issues.

The event will take place at the 9/10 Multi-purpose Room at 8 p.m., and will be televised on campus television on SCTV channel 28.

As the official student government of UC Santa Cruz with an annual budget of over $400,000, SUA directly represents the undergraduate student body to on-campus administrators, the UC Student Association, the UC regents and the United States Student Association (USSA).

Despite a history of low voter turnout, SUA organizing director Kevin Huang is optimistic for next week’s election. This year, he hopes SUA can show students the importance of this year’s election through outreach.

“UCSC students are politically conscious,” Huang said. “It’s a matter of catching students’ attention so they can show they care.”

Historically, voter turnout has rarely surpassed 30 percent. During last year’s election, only 20.09 percent of the total student body voted.

Constitutional amendments require a quorum 20 percent of the undergraduate student body’s vote — but last year’s amendment votes tallied about 17 percent and none of the proposed amendments were allowed to pass.

Former chair of SUA and current president of USSA Tiffany Loftin said low voter turnout is chronic in many student government elections across the country, rarely surpassing 50 percent voter turnout per campus.

“Not enough students know about student government elections or where and how to vote,” Loftin said.

Plans to increase voter engagement are in the works, said SUA elections commissioner Kelly Herron.

“The elections commission is working really hard to publicize the voting period to encourage all students to vote,” said Herron, who has been focusing on outreach to freshman and students who live off campus. “We are using social media to try to reach out to them.”

Elections coordinator Lucy Rojas said current SUA members have also been working with UCSC faculty to boost voter participation regarding the proposed new fees.

“The campaign groups associated with the proposed fees each year do an amazing job in encouraging voter turnout, and many of the groups typically work together on outreach and advertising,” Rojas said. “Our office tries hard to provide regular communication with students during the elections season.”

Elections Past and Present

Last year, a mishap occurred when candidates’ applications were posted online for eight days instead of the required 14. This was discovered after voting had begun, invalidated all votes cast. The elections commissioner stepped down and Fairooz Faggouseh took over the position, who also stepped down soon after. A third and final elections commissioner then took over the position.
Afterwards, new candidates applied for representative positions and a remedial election took place.

Faggouseh said she thinks the organizational efforts of this year’s election will make all the difference in this election.

“The success of [this year’s] elections really depends on the amount of support that is available from advisors, SUA members and other students as well.”

The Future of Flyering

SUA recently ratified a ban on classroom flyering, effective next year — an often used outreach method in previous elections. Huang said the ban has been put in place in an effort to reduce waste on campus, but is concerned voter turnout may lessen when the new policy is implemented.

“There are 16,000 students on this campus,” Huang said. “There’s no way you’re going to reach [a significant percentage] of them without those flyers.”

Current SUA chair Nwadiuto (DT) Amajoyi said she sees the ban as an opportunity for methods of outreach to evolve.
“One thing for sure is that the banning of flyers will require all future candidates to get more creative in reaching out to the student body and also raising awareness of themselves as candidates,” Amajoyi said.

Former SUA chair Kalwis Lo said with or without flyers, it’s up to students to make change.

“Full time students are busy,” Lo said. “They need to realize that [by participating], they can make a difference as an individual.”

illustration by Christine Hipp

This Week

–SUA was called to order at 6:06 p.m.

–SUA has acquired new microphones for their meetings. This was done to address the problem of hearing people during meetings.

–There was a motion to move a discussion on setting future goals for SUA to the beginning of next quarter. The argument was that new representatives will be coming in and they should be a part of the discussion. Despite objections that it was already voted on that the goals be set this week, and that the experience of the current representatives is important in planning future goals, the motion was approved.

Announcements

–SUA has worked with Transportation and Parking Services to provide the Slug Shuttle, a free transportation for students from Quarry Plaza to the San Jose Diridon train station or the San Jose International Airport. This service will be available on Dec. 12, 13 and 14 at 7 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. For more information visit: taps.ucsc.edu

–The UC Santa Cruz library is looking for student input, via survey, into issues of budget and library hours. To participate in the survey visit: library.ucsc.edu

–Open Studios, a presentation of student artwork, will be opening this Friday from 12–4 p.m. at the Baskin Visual Arts Studios and Digital Arts Research Center.

Business

–SUA voted to ratify a new SUA treasurer, Eric Rubin. Rubin was chosen by DT Amajoyi, chair of SUA, from a number of other candidates on the basis of interviews and experience. After a discussion about Rubin’s previous experience, Rubin was ratified by a vote and became the new SUA treasurer.

–The bone marrow donor center, DKMS, asked for a donation of $250 from SUA for materials and donations to help support an on-campus bone marrow drive. The money would come directly out of the SUA programming fund. The motion to donate the money was approved under the condition that it only go to benefiting the campus and students, and3 that it was not a general nonprofit donation. The reason for this condition was mainly due to legal restrictions. The bone marrow drive will be happening on Feb. 1, 2013 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Namaste Lounge and Red Room at College Eight.

Illustration by Christine Hipp

–The Office of Internal Affairs is working with Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) to set up a Slug Shuttle for the winter holidays. There will be an open town hall meeting at the Stevenson Event Center from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. for more information about these shuttles.

–There will be restructuring of the Ethnic Resource Centers. Carolyn Dunn, who oversees all the resource centers along with External Vice Chancellor (EVC) Alison Galloway, wants to form an advisory student council to receive input about what the Ethnic Resource Center can do in terms of improvements.

–There is going to be a post-Prop 30 event to discuss fiscal impacts that will affect California, the UCs and more specifically UC Santa Cruz. EVC Galloway wants to open a townhall meeting to address any questions students may have. It is hoped that this will take place at the beginning of January.

–Starting Nov. 28, the SUA office, located on the second floor in the Student Union Building, will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Staff will be present and students and other members of the campus community are encouraged to come.

– On Nov. 30, the Digital Arts and New Media (DANM) students will be screening one of their graduate student’s documentaries. Jonathan Menendez, a DANM student at UCSC, has directed a documentary entitled, “Gay LAtino Part 1: Coming of Age.” The screening will be held at the Humanities Lecture Hall at 6 p.m.

Other Business:

–SUA voted on the Resolution for the Support of the 2012–13 American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Contract Campaign. The resolution was authorized and introduced by SUA organizing director Kevin Huang. The resolution would mean that the SUA supports AFSCME and its 3,299 members in their negotiations for a fair labor contract, and supports labor unions as the main representatives for employees. The vote was passed in favor of this contract.

–An SUA goal setting meeting was in the agenda for this week’s meeting, however there was a motion to table the goal setting meeting to the beginning of next week. The motion for this resolution was passed.

Illustration by Christine Hipp

Announcements:

– Rocío Zamora, SUA’s commissioner of diversity, announced that there will be a Queer People of Color Mixer on Nov. 15 from 5:30–7:30 p.m. The SUA wishes to make this event open to everyone. It is free to attend. Co-sponsors include the Cantú Queer Center, Familia X, the Ethnic Resource Centers and the Queer Student Union.

– Shiku Muhire, the Commissioner of Academic Affairs for SUA, announced that there will be presentations in next week’s meeting about students’ experiences with the Student of Color Conference that happened the weekend of Nov. 9–11. SUA members and other students that attended the conference will comment on and discuss the conference.

– The Rainbow Theater is having their last production Nov. 16–18. The performance is a two-act play titled, “Breath Boom,” and addresses issues of identity, suicide, rape, gang culture and AIDS, according to Cultural Arts and Diversity’s website. The showing is free with student ID and doors open at 6:30. The show officially begins at 7 p.m.

– DT, chair of SUA announced that SUA will be having a celebration in honor of surpassing their goal for student voter registration. They surpassed their goal of 4,000 people by 88 people, which sets a new SUA record as well as a new UCSA record.

Presentations:

– Adam Snook, the Community Safety Program Coordinator for UCSC’s housing department, gave a presentation on the Night Owl shuttles that run on weekends for UCSC students. The shuttles run from approximately 11 p.m.–3 a.m. and offer rides for students that need a ride up to campus from downtown. He also discussed the policies between Community Safety Officers (CSO) and students.

New Business:

– Victor Velasco, SUA’s external vice-chair, gave an update on the UCSA board meeting regarding Proposition 30. The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) sent out a letter of thanks to all students and youth who came to the UCSA board meeting to ensure the passage of Proposition 30. Victor also noted that all UCSA board meetings are public and the next board meeting will be held at UC Merced from Jan. 12–13. The letter also acknowledged other bills that were passed, including AB1723, a resolution that ensures all California Community Colleges, CSUs and UC Regents and Board of Trustees “provide live audio transmission of all meetings, which are open to the public.” This is a practice that SUA currently upholds, as all their meetings are recorded via webcam and available for public viewing at their website: http://www.studentunionassembly.org/

Speaker of the event “Wrongfully Sentenced to Death” Juan Roberto Melendez. Illustration by Leigh Douglas

 After spending 17 years, eight months and one day on death row for a crime he did not commit, Juan Roberto Melendez was exonerated in 2002.

Melendez visited UC Santa Cruz on Oct. 30 to share his story  and to encourage students to rethink their stance on capital punishment.

The event “Wrongfully Sentenced to Death” was sponsored and hosted by a wide array of campus organizations, including the Chicano Latino Resource Center (El Centro), the Legal Studies Department and the Student Union Assembly.

Rosie Cabrera, director of the Chicano Latino Resource Center, said the event was meant to educate students on the most important aspect of the death penalty.

“We hope that people have an opportunity to understand our justice system, learn that mistakes are made and that, in-fact, race matters,” Cabrera said.

During his introduction of the event, death penalty expert and professor of psychology Craig Haney listed what he called the “Four Pillars of Capital Punishment,” which he said society uses to validate capital punishment. These pillars include the notion that capital punishment is necessary, that it punishes only the very worst offenders, that executions are painless and that innocent people are never sentenced to death by the court system.

“Based on my contact with the system, all four of them are myths,” Hanley said. “None of those things are true.”

Only 17 states have thus far abolished the death penalty. On Tuesday, California voted down a repeal of the death penalty striking down Proposition 34, which would have repealed the death penalty. Since capital punishment was introduced, 1,307 people have been executed in the United States and 141 people have been exonerated from death row.

Melendez is the ninety-ninth person in the United States who has been exonerated from death row for a crime he did not commit. Arrested in 1984, he spent seventeen years in the Florida State Penitentiary, convicted of the first-degree murder and armed robbery.

Melendez described how he felt powerless within the legal system because of his unfamiliarity with the English language.

“I was naive to the law, naive to the language,” Melendez said.“This is the kind of English I knew at that time — if I said five words in English, believe me my friend, they would have been cuss words.”

Melendez said the courtroom lacked an ethnically diverse jury during his conviction of robbing a white male.

“[They] picked 11 whites, one African American person, no Hispanics,” Melendez said. “And I’m Hispanic.”

The main evidence the prosecution presented against Melendez was from a police informant who claimed Melendez confessed the murder to him and a police report that misidentified the killer based on cosmetic details — a tattoo and missing tooth — that happened to match Melendez. After deliberation by the jury, he was sentenced to death by electric chair.

Melendez said his experience has shown him how the death penalty system is inherently racist and unjust.

According to deathpenaltyinfo.org, as of Nov. 1, the current death row population is 41.8 percent black, 12.4 percent Latino, and 43.2 percent white.

Results of the 2010 U.S. census reveal how ethnic minorities compose a disproportionate number of death row inmates when compared to the po

pulation at large. According to the census, 75.1 percent of all Americans are white, 12.3 percent are black and 12.4 percent are Latino.

Melendez said the death penalty is also a heavy financial burden on society. An updated assessment by Judge Arthur Alarcon and professor Paula Mitchell states that costs associated with the death penalty in California have totaled over $4 billion since 1978. If Proposition 34 passed, it would have reduced the sentences of those remaining on death row to life without parole and California would have been projected to save $170 million per year and $5 billion over the next 20 years.

As a last appeal, Melendez was assigned a new legal team that uncovered the real murderer’s confession tape. He was transferred to a different county for retrial in front of a new judge where he was proven innocent.

Since his release, Melendez has worked to educate the public about the flaws in the death penalty system. He is a member of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and Journey of Hope … From Violence to Healing, aiding them in their mission to raise awareness about the negative impacts of the death penalty.

At the conclusion of the event, Melendez summarized what he felt was the biggest problem with the death penalty.

“The most important thing people need to know is this, as long as the great state of California has it — or any state, any country, any nation — there will always be a risk of executing an innocent one,” Melendez said. “We can always release an innocent man from prison, we have no problems with that, but we can never, I repeat never, release an innocent man from the grave.”

Illustration by Christine Hipp

Announcements:

– There will be a dialogue centered on queer students on campus taking place this Thursday from 6–8 p.m. in the Redwood Lounge.

– Rainbow Theater, the multicultural performance arts student organization will be putting on shows this Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Stevenson Event Center starting at 7:00 p.m.

– Representatives of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) will be negotiating with the University of California (UC) to work out a new contract for service workers on Nov. 9 above the Bay Tree Bookstore. A student rally to support them will take place around noon in the Quarry Plaza below.

Presentations:

– Organizing director Kevin Huang gave a presentation on the United States Student Association (USSA). He explained that the USSA is a coalition of student governments from around the nation, and that every student at UC Santa Cruz pays 25 cents to allow UCSC’s SUA to be a member at USSA.

– Every office of SUA gave a presentation on the different committees that are organized under their desk.

- The organizing director Kevin Huang oversees the Student Power Committee, a committee dedicated to helping organize students.

- The internal vice chair Shaz Umer oversees the Outreach/Student Life Committee, which works on general student outreach and organizes events on campus.

- The external vice chair Victor Velasco oversees the Lobby Corps., which is for lobbying for students and student issues on campus and around the state.

- The commissioner of diversity Rocío Zamora oversees the Diversity Commission, which provides space to learn about and discuss student identity and diversity on campus.

- The commissioner of academic affairs Wanjiku (Shiku) Muhire oversees the Student Academic Senate, which is an organization focused on making changes for students on campus.

- The SUA chair Nwadiuto (DT) Amajoyi is a moderator of the Student Organization Funding Association Committee (SOFA), which works to fund student interests around campus. It is the only committee that is not open to the general public, and is instead made up of only SUA representatives.

Business:

– $300 was approved to fund election night screenings for students around campus.

– SUA passed a motion to officially endorse Proposition 30, a proposition to increase personal income taxes on those earning more than $250,000 annually and an increase in sales and use taxes to fund K-12 schools and community colleges.

– SUA also passed a motion that expresses opposition to Proposition 32, which prohibits unions and corporations from giving to political candidates or committees which represent them.

Illustration by Christine Hipp

Campus provost and executive vice chancellor (EVC) Alison Galloway spoke on the current and future budget situation of the UCs, and UC Santa Cruz specifically. She spoke about how the failure of Proposition 30 would affect the budget, specifically on the $250 million cuts from UCs and CSUs that would be immediately triggered if Proposition 30 fails, $15 million of which would be cut from UCSC.

The provost also took questions about subjects ranging from tuition increases to the enrollment of out of state students, and also to the future of construction on campus.

It was also EVC Galloway’s birthday, and her presentation ended with a chorus of “Happy Birthday” and cake.

The UCSC chief of police, Nader Oweis, gave a presentation on the role that UCSC peace officers play in the community. Oweis said changes have been made to make them a bigger, more prominent part of the community. He also talked about the work they do to create a safer environment on campus.

“We’re a big part of your community — our officers are here because they want to be,” Oweis said.

Announcements

-The Student Worker Coalition will be meeting Friday at 5 p.m. at Joe’s Sandwich Shop.

-The Women of Color Science Coalition will be meeting on Nov. 9 at 5 p.m. in the Guzman room in Oakes to discuss how to get involved in the medical field.

-Gov. Jerry Brown will be visiting UCSC this Friday at 9:30 a.m.

New Business

-SUA-sponsored screenings of the election results will be shown around campus. It will be shown at the Stevenson Event Center, and probably at College Nine and the Recreation Center, and a location on the west side of campus as well.

-SUA passed a resolution officially endorsing Proposition 30.

-SUA also passed a resolution that they are officially against Proposition 32.

Old Business

-There was a large amount of discussion about whether or not $3,588.42 could be used to help fund a trip for 85 students to the 2012 Students of Color Conference at UC Riverside. The $3,000 was money that was planned to be used on interns for the SUA officers, which five of the six officers did not hire, leaving the money unused. The remaining $588.42 was moved out of SUA’s general fund. The motion to use the funds for the Students of Color Conference passed.

-There was a final motion carried on altering funds allocated to hiring a Director of Student Life to help SUA with student outreach. Originally the money was meant for the hire of a single Director of Student Life at $500 per month. It was changed to hiring a Director of Student Life for $300 per month, as well as two outreach coordinators for $100 per month. The motion passed with little opposition.

SUA meetings are held from 6–8 p.m. every Tuesday, above the College 9/10 Dining Hall in the Alumni Room of the University Center.

This week’s gathering was not an official meeting, since it did not meet its quorum, which is the minimum amount of representatives to conduct business and vote.

Announcements:

- On Oct. 19, the Student Regents will be hosting a conference discussing Prop 30. It will be held at the Cervantes and Velasquez Conference Room from 2:30–3:30 p.m.

- There is one week left to register to vote. An online voter registration tool is available on eCommons.

- This year’s Practical Activism Conference, a student-led conference on activism, will take place on Oct. 20 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the College Nine/Ten Multipurpose Room.

New Business:

- The Resource Center, which serves various diverse communities on campus, is being restructured. They have faced a cut in staffing — the number of program coordinators from 5 to 2.

- The SUA will be voting to amend a new position, the director of student life, which will be in charge of reaching out to students.

- The SUA plans to take 90 UCSC students to the Student of Color Conference held in UC Riverside. The date of the conference is Nov. 9–11.

Presentations:

- Kevin Huang, the Organizing Director for SUA, discussed Voter Suppression Laws, which are laws that discourage or prevent certain people from voting.

- Another presentation by Huang covered both sides of Prop 32, which would claim to ban corporate and union monetary contributions to local candidates.

- Huang also discussed that the AFSCME 3299 does not currently have a contract with the UC, which affects the working conditions of service and patient care workers.

- Huang discussed Sallie Mae’s relationship with UCSC. Sallie Mae profits 95 cents for each UCSC

student transaction.

Illustration by Christine Hipp

This week the Student Union Assembly (SUA) met for the first time of the 2012–13 academic year. At the first meeting there were new college representatives and SUA officers in attendance. The meeting focused largely on how SUA works, and as a result it was “a bit informal,” said SUA chair DT Amajoyi.

Internal vice chair Shaz Umer, gave a presentation on Proposition 36, which is on the Nov. 6 ballot. The proposition would revise California’s Three Strikes Law in which three felonies would result in 25 years to life in prison for an offender. Under Prop 36, prisoners who had committed three felonies would be reevaluated with a possible re-sentencing if the felonies were nonviolent.

Commissioner of academic affairs Shiku Muhire, gave a presentation about another upcoming proposition, Prop 34, which addresses the death penalty. Voting yes on Prop 34 would eliminate the death penalty in California.

External vice chair Victor Velasco, talked about his attempt with the University of California Student Assembly (UCSA) to register about 40,000 students to vote, of which about 42 percent have already been registered. The UCSA, of which all UC students are members, is a group of student governments within the UCs.

The meeting ended with a presentation by College Ten representative Maria Jennings about the UCSA.

When the meeting ended Umer said that with so much information in such a short amount of time, it may not have gotten through to everyone. But, he said, with the introductory information out of the way next week should go smoother.

The Student Union Assembly’s next meeting will be next Tuesday, Oct. 16 from 6–8 p.m. in the Alumni Room of the University Center.

The Student Union Assembly put together a budget forum informational meeting followed by a Q&A session led by Alison Galloway regarding the effects of budget cuts after this month’s revision. Photo by Nallely Ruiz

At the Student Budget Forum with executive vice chancellor Alison Galloway, it was announced that UC Santa Cruz’s budget for the 2012-13 school year will have to stand up to some serious slashing.

Galloway said the most optimistic number for the amount expected to be slashed from the budget is approximately $4.5 million if Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed tax initiatives are passed this fall. If Brown’s tax initiatives fail, the state is expected to cut approximately $250 million from the UC system budget, and cuts to the UCSC campus are estimated to run from $18–20 million.

Students asked Galloway a variety of questions regarding where and how the budget cuts would be enacted.

“This year, we’re planning our budget around an $8 million cut,” Galloway said. “Money comes in two flavors. There’s permanent money we depend on every year, that we use to pay faculty, give professors tenure, and more. Then we have one-time money. One-time is money we can use back and forth. Typically we have some one time money that we use where we need to. This coming year, we’re planning on taking an $8 million cut out of one-time money.”

When asked about the faculty’s part in deciding what would be cut in collaboration with the administration, Galloway said the dean would first work with department chairs to determine how the one-time money will be spent in addition to planning for permanent cuts in July 2013.

“Then I get the plan, the Academic Senate gets them, and there’s a back and forth,” Galloway said. “For the 2013 budget, it’s going to be a longer process, because the cuts will be much harder to do.”

Chad Oliver, a first-year environmental studies major, asked whether the administration had given any thought to working with students in order to push for more support from the state on the forum’s Facebook page, which was set up so students who couldn’t attend the meeting could voice their concerns to Galloway.

“In the discretionary budget, there is education, health and human services, and the prison system,” she said. “There’s a lot of political pressure to keep the prison system going at the current rate, which tends to pit health and human services against education.”

Galloway also said legislators, like the UC schools, have been met with difficult decisions regarding cuts as well.

“To give the legislators credit, they’re facing some tough choices themselves,” Galloway said. “[Legislators] have to go into one room and listen to educators and their supporters, and then go into the next room where someone is saying if you cut this, I’m only allowed three trips to the dialysis machine in a year and I’m going to die. That’s the kind of pressure they’re dealing with. The concern for us is that if you’re not funding higher education, then you’re not investing in the future of California.”

Student Union Assembly commissioner of academic affairs Jessica Greenstreet said she was concerned about the role that the UC Office of the President (UCOP) plays in taking money out of the campus budget and putting it into their own budget.

“UCOP is projecting a $60 million cut,” Galloway said, “which sounds good, but then they are taking $75 million for special projects on different campuses, so they’re really increasing their budget by $15 million. When we talk to the Office of the President, we say, ‘Well, we can’t cut that — that’s a good program.’ We’re even beyond that now, as we have cut many good programs. We have cut many things that are really good for our faculty, for our students and our staff. But they don’t feel the level of pain that we do.”

Greenstreet also asked if Galloway had any plans to work with UCOP in order to reduce the amount of funds taken from university budgets.

“One of the reasons that we are trying to bring people [from UCOP] down to the campuses is so that they can see the severity of the cuts,” Galloway said. “I would love to show them the Quarry Amphitheater, and tell them we would love to have the money to fix this place up, so it can be a venue again. But we have to fundraise to do that. It’s just not in our budget.”

With the state contribution getting smaller each year, she said, the cuts will keep coming.

“We don’t have anything left to cut,” Galloway said. “There are few things we could cut and still maintain a future for the campus.”

Keynote speaker Michael Eric Dyson gives an inspiring speech during the Speaker Blowout Event. Photo by Chelsea McKeown

The lights dimmed, clamorous chattering came to a halt and the background music dwindled into silence. As students sat quietly and attentively, Michael Eric Dyson stepped onto the stage.

“Like Biggie said, ‘Pink gators, my Detroit players/’Timbs’ for my hooligans in Brooklyn,’” Dyson said.

The crowd’s silence broke into an uproar of cheering and laughter as they applauded the Detroit-born professor, author, radio show host and academic’s reference to The Notorious B.I.G’s 1996 hit song, “Hypnotize” before he swiftly shifted back to intellectual vernacular.

Dyson spoke at the Stevenson Event Center May 9 for the sixth annual speaker blowout. The jointly organized SUA and Engaging Education event was aimed toward addressing issues that affect access to higher education and the success of under-resourced and under-represented communities on campus.

“There are a lot of students struggling that need a sense of community and we thought that Dr. Michael Eric Dyson would be that person to help bridge that gap in building solidarity between different communities here on campus,” said Abel Pineda, co-program coordinator for Engaging Education.

Dyson’s ability to reach students and elucidate what he called, “the powers and perils of diversity,” lies not only in his master’s degree and doctorate from Princeton University, the 16 books he has authored, his countless appearances on several major media outlets, his former show on NPR or his current position as a sociology professor at Georgetown University, but also in his own personal background and presence.

Stretches of erudite speech were frequently sprinkled with commentary and jokes, and sometimes song — or rap — to support Dyson’s thoughts. From Trey Songz to Marvin Gaye, at various points the staid tone erupted into fingers snapping and hands clapping as the audience sang along with Dyson’s use of musical reference to engage the crowd.

In addition to Dyson’s magnetic speaking abilities, he did not shy away from addressing the issues surrounding race and ethnicity. His talk urged students to eradicate an assigned hierarchy of difference and to embrace diversity.

“The beauty of diversity is that those outsiders come to the table, shape the table, ask questions about who’s at the table, begin to participate, begin to be included, begin to be integrated, begin to be invited,” Dyson said. “It invites voices that didn’t used to be heard to be heard, faces that were never seen to be included.”

Dyson warned against discrimination between separated minority groups and its potential to divest diversity of its radical intent to challenge the majority. He said it was important instead to understand the universality of different communities while emphasizing the value in maintaining their unique differences.

“The differences among ourselves are suppressed, so our challenge is figuring out ways to embrace and allow to breathe those differences that make us who we are,” Dyson said.

Inciting dialogue on inclusion and diversity within the campus community was essential to the event organizers.

“An event like this and a speaker like this is especially important to SUA because people need to be challenged,” said DT Amajoyi, SUA commissioner of diversity. “It will challenge [students] to not just stick with the status quo, but to figure out what it is that’s going on.”

Amajoyi said the talk is especially relevant for the upcoming academic year with plans for new programs in critical race and ethnic studies on campus. Voices of underrepresented communities are also threatened with voter ID laws and other legislation like SB1070 and HB56.

Voter ID laws require a person to show formal identification to vote and are thought by some to be a problem of intimidation to voters of underrepresented communities. SB1070 is an Arizona law that obliges immigrants to have registration documents in possession at all times. HB56 is another Arizona law that “[requires] a person to present proof of citizenship and residency before voting,” according to the act.

Dyson’s words also reflect and encourage the collaboration that took place between SUA and Engaging Education to plan and execute the evening along with several other organizations that came together to help support the event.

“Different ethnic organizations and different student organizations on campus are very divided in a sense because they have their own projects and they want to do their own things,” said Adrianne Sebastian, co-program coordinator at Engaging Education. “But we felt it was necessary to promote cross-collaboration and joining together of different spaces.”

“Some of the ideas that were brought up and introduced by Dyson and the students are very instrumental in terms of how we are going to continue producing programs,” said Engaging Education co-program coordinator Pineda, “and hopefully be producing more collaborative programs within the different communities.”

Barry Jakob. Photo by Sarah Manley.

UC Santa Cruz is No. 2 in voter registration at 16 percent, falling right behind UC Santa Barbara at 36 percent, said Student Union Assembly (SUA) vote coordinator Barry Jakob.

Jakob wants to change that with a new SUA initiative: SlugVOTE.

“Ideally, I’d like to see the numbers go up to 40 or 50 percent of the student body,” Jakob said. “I want us to be number one in the UC system.”

SlugVOTE is a planned SUA voter registration initiative conducted by Jakob and several other students. The goals of SlugVOTE, Jakob said, include being a constant presence on campus.

“SlugVOTE is an organization that acts all year, every year” he said. “It’s not just an implied power that only acts a month in advance of election season.”

SlugVOTE isn’t like CalPIRG or other Quarry Plaza staples, Jakob said, but there will be a Quarry Plaza presence.

“We want to outreach in a way that’s different from the way voter registration has been done here before,” Jakob said. “We want people to come to us. We’ll have a table with a five-gallon water cooler, candy, things like that.”

Jakob and SUA communications director Shaz Umer said the central hope behind SlugVOTE is that it will outlast the presence of its current coordinators. Plans are underway for the initiative to be institutionalized within the infrastructure of SUA.

“It’s also being incorporated in the position of SUA external vice chancellor [currently held by Nelson Cortez]. SlugVote will be one of the responsibilities of the office of the EVC,” Umer said.

Most students are probably familiar with the packets received on move-in day, complete with a voter registration form. Jakob thinks that method is too passive, and intends to go door to door among the dorms, knocking and asking people to register to vote.

“Campus move-in day is going to look a lot different. You’ll see a voter registration presence there,” Jakob said. “We want it become a cultural, core feature of UCSC civic engagement. We want it to last for future generations.”

Umer and Jakob also hope the initiative can be interwoven with other campus events.

“We would like to make SlugVOTE services available to all student organizations on campus, and we would like to be able to table at those events,” Jakob said.

Illustration by Jamie Morton

With 40,000 undergraduate applicants for the upcoming fall quarter, UC Santa Cruz broke its own application records and saw a 17.2 percent increase in freshman applications. UCSC is now second only to UCLA in application figures.

The diversity of applicants to UCSC also rose sharply, with wide variances in socioeconomic background, ethnicity, and country of origin. African-American, Chicano and Asian-American applications rose 17 percent, 22.3 percent, and 15.6 percent, respectively.

“UCSC is committed to attracting, admitting and enrolling students who are truly reflective of the diversity of the state of California,” said UCSC director of admissions Michael McCawley in a Jan. 12 press release.

SUA chair Amanda Buchanan said this speaks to the efficacy of UCSC’s outreach programs.

“An applicant profile like this goes to show how important our Student-Initiated Outreach programs are,” Buchanan said. “Specifically, Destination Higher Education, Orale and A Step Forward did amazing work this past spring in bringing in students from African-American, Chicano and Asian-American communities to see what life is like on our campus.”

Buchanan has some reservations about the campus’s shaky financial situation and how it will affect these new students.

“As we present opportunities to our students, we need to make sure that the campus is prepared to offer any resources they may need,” Buchanan said. “This becomes increasingly difficult in times of budget reductions. We need to make it clear to campus administration that prioritizing the needs of students outside of academics is equally as important for retention and quality.”

The university needs to preserve institutions that serve students from varying backgrounds, she said.

“Our Ethnic Resource Centers need to be reinvested in to preserve the amazing work that they do,” she said.

Applications from Chicano and Latino students amounted to 29.6 percent of the total, bringing UCSC closer to being a Hispanic Serving Institution (HIS). To be considered a Hispanic Serving Institution, the university’s undergraduate population must be at least 25 percent Latino. This designation provides schools with grants and support services.

“It’s a source of revenue that would be very, very helpful,” said Patricia Zavella, professor of Latin American and Latino studies (LALS) and department chair, about the HIS distinction, in a 2011 interview.

Jonathan Fox, department chair of UCSC’s Latin American and Latino studies program, said these statistics demonstrate the success of campus admissions policy.

“In fall 2005, 75 percent of incoming frosh came from households where only English was spoken,” he said. “In fall 2011, only 54 percent of UCSC frosh came from households where only English was spoken. These changes were not driven by demographics alone. Our campus admissions policies take into account a wide range of indicators for understanding students’ achievement and potential.”

In addition, out-of-state and international student applications saw similar spikes, both in numbers and percentage. McCawley said UCSC’s recent recognition by Times Higher Education as a world-class research school is at least partially responsible for this jump.

“Recognitions like these speak to students around the world about the important role our faculty play on an international stage,” McCawley said in reference to UCSC’s current ranking as third-best worldwide in terms of research impact, behind only MIT and Princeton.

With all of these numbers in mind, one thing may be true: This fall, UCSC may begin to reflect the diversity of its home state even more.

“Our student body is looking more like California,” Fox said.