Cultivating Conversation
Opportunities for Dialogue
At a time when honest conversation across the spectrum is more important than ever, we encourage our community to connect, engage, and participate whenever possible. Cultivating Conversation aggregates information about the many opportunities for dialogue that are occurring across our school and campus. This is an open forum featuring content suggested by members of our school without endorsing their positions.
Objectivity in Journalism
Tuesday, May 6
7:30 p.m. p.m.
Hammer Museum
Objectivity in Journalism
In 2016, the Oxford English Dictionary named “post-truth” its international word of the year, while the phrases “alternative facts” and “fake news” continue to haunt news media. Former editor of The Nation and veteran journalist Victor Navasky, University of Missouri journalism professor Tom Warhover, and journalist Lewis Wallace discuss media objectivity, neutrality, and opinion in a political and cultural era where emotional appeals are in constant tension with objective facts. Moderated by political theorist Ainsley LeSure.
Constitution Happy Hour
Fridays, May 12, 19, 26; Jun. 9, 16, 23, 30
6 p.m.
Hammer Museum
Constitution Happy Hour
Guided, topical conversations about the US Constitution and its role in our democracy—with drinks! Reflect, inquire, and build your knowledge of American government during AMMO Café’s happy hour ($5 draft beer and select wine).
Constitution Café is a project of the artist Linda Pollack, who believes, “The U.S. Constitution is a living document, part of our quotidian life, influencing us in both large and small ways daily.” Visit mydailyconstitution.org for more information.
Past Events:
What Would a Mike Pence Presidency Look Like?
Tuesday, May 16
7:30 p.m.
Hammer Museum
What Would a Pence Presidency Look Like?
As investigations, infighting, and controversy continue to plague the Trump administration, a Mike Pence presidency lurches into consideration. Political scientist Marjorie Hershey, publisher of Religion Dispatches and USC Annenberg Knight Chair in Media and Religion Diane Winston, and executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy Lisa Graves examine Pence’s political history in Indiana, his deep religious convictions, and his relationship with powerful patrons like the Koch brothers. Moderated by Ian Masters.
Intersectional Actvisim in the Age of Trump: Kimberlé Crenshaw and Eve Ensler
Thursday, May 11
7:30 p.m.
Intersectional Actvisim in the Age of Trump: Kimberlé Crenshaw and Eve Ensler
Tony Award–winning playwright and activist Eve Ensler and renowned legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw lead a revolutionary conversation and offer strategies for surviving the current political climate as antiracist feminists. Using the intersectional, inclusive framework at the heart of campaigns like Say Her Name, Why We Can’t Wait, and One Billion Rising, these two feminist icons address some of the most urgent questions facing our nation.
Sa-I-Gu: The Los Angeles Uprisings 25 Years Later, Witnessing the Past, Envisioning our Future
Friday, Apr. 28
11 a.m.–9 p.m.
Sa-I-Gu: The Los Angeles Uprisings 25 Years Later, Witnessing the Past, Envisioning our Future
UCLA Luskin Conference Center , 425 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Free with RSVP
On April 29, 1992, a jury acquitted four LAPD officers of all charges stemming from the filmed beating of Rodney King. Following the verdict, Los Angeles erupted into nearly a week of unprecedented civil unrest.
While these events shook the entire city, they disproportionately impacted African American, Korean American and Latino communities. Although commonly referred to as the “Los Angeles Riots,” this period is also remembered as the Los Angeles Uprisings and Sa-I-Gu (literally “April 29” in Korean).
Please join us as we examine this historic event from multiple perspectives. Discussions will include community retrospectives, contemporary analyses and forward-thinking dialogue that contemplates the future of Los Angeles.
Wednesday, Apr. 26
7:30 p.m.
Keeping the Dream Alive
Hammer Museum
The United States is home to nearly two million DREAMers, undocumented immigrants under the age of 35 who arrived as children, seeking a pathway to citizenship. While Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), signed by President Obama, grants legal recognition and amnesty to some, their future is tenuous under the Trump administration.
Dr. Angela Chuan-Ru Chen is former director of the Undocumented Student Program at UCLA and current director of Pre-Health Dreamers, which supports undocumented students interested in health care careers, and Marielena Hincapie is the Executive Director of the National Immigration Law Center.
Dr. Chen, Hincapie, and moderator Ian Masters discuss ways to navigate the current immigration landscape, particularly how to advocate for support programs and undocumented student policies.
Stand Up and Fight Back: Tactics and Strategies for Effective Creative Activism
Sunday, Apr. 9
3–6 p.m.
Stand Up and Fight Back: Tactics and Strategies for Effective Creative Activism
The Wiltern, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90010
Free, RSVP encouraged
Do you want to get more active and skilled at making social and political change?
People around the world have used civil disobedience through non-violent direct action to fight for rights, freedom, and justice. This free 3-hour workshop at The Wiltern, taught by two of the nation’s leading nonviolent practitioners, will explore strategies and best on-the-ground practices for successful nonviolent action.
- Identify what makes an action or movement effective
- Explore the history of nonviolent struggles
- Learn legal and safety skills, and how to de-escalate conflict
Reverend James Lawson, a leading theoretician and tactician of nonviolence within the Civil Rights Movement who was instrumental in training Martin Luther King Jr. and thousands of US civil rights activists, will join Nadine Bloch, training director for Beautiful Trouble, an organization that promotes creative strategic activism.
Monday, Mar. 13
The Freedom to Marry
UCLA Law School Room 1457
Free with RSVP
UCLA Law School's OUTLaw, the Williams Institute and the Office for Student Affairs host a screening of “The Freedom to Marry” on Monday, March 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the UCLA School of Law in room 1457. The film will be followed by a light reception and Q&A with main character Evan Wolfson and filmmakers Eddie Rosenstein and Amie Segal.
Sexual Violence on Campus: Definitions, Rights, and Responsibilities
Tuesday, Mar. 14. 6 p.m.–7:30
Sexual Violence on Campus: Definitions, Rights, and Responsibilities
LA Law Library
Free with RSVP
A diverse panel of experts including will guide a discussion, respond to questions and concerns, and facilitate a dialog about sexual violence on college and university campuses. Discussion to include legal, ethical aspects of sexual assault cases and how the campus process for sexual assault is separate from the criminal process.
Grantwriting for Artist Activists with Beth Pickens
Monday, Feb. 27, 6–7:30 p.m.
Grant Writing for Artist Activists with Beth Pickens
Broad 2101
Beth Pickens is a Los Angeles-based consultant for artists and arts organizations. She provides career consultation, grant writing, fundraising, and financial, project and strategic planning services for clients throughout the US. She earned my M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Before relocating to Los Angeles in 2014, she was based in San Francisco where I served as Senior Program Manager at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Managing Director of both RADAR Productions and the Queer Cultural Center. She specializes in supporting queer and trans artists, women, and artists of color, and is the founder of the Making Art During Fascism zine, workshop series, and radio talk show.
On Monday Feb. 27, Beth will bring her wealth of expertise to the Art as Resistance community in support of our desires to raise funds for creative activism. We will also be joined by UCLA representatives from the Student Committee for the Arts and the Budget Review Committee to give us some inside info into funding opportunities for students and student groups. If you want to raise your own funds for your artistic or activist practice, you cant miss this opportunity!
Sponsored by the UCLA Visual and Performing Arts Education Program, Art as Resistance is a monthly student-organized space in which artistic practice and political resistance can intersect, coexist, mutually inform, and work towards change.
Standing Tall for Tribal Rights
Wednesday, Mar. 1
Standing Tall for Tribal Rights
Hammer Museum
Last year, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and thousands of allies began gathering for one of the largest Native American protests in history. Blocking the development of the Dakota Access Pipeline, the activists known as “water protectors” call attention to environmental policy and sacred sites, but also to a longer history of the dispossession of Native American land.
UCLA law professors Carole Goldberg and Angela R. Riley discuss with scholar and activist Melanie K. Yazzie what tribal sovereignty and Indian rights look like in today’s United States as well as in activism more broadly. Moderated by Ian S. Masters, journalist, documentary filmmaker, and KPFK 90.7 FM radio host.
voidLab and the UCLA Arts Library 2017 participate in Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon
Friday, Mar. 3, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon
UCLA Arts Library
voidLab and the UCLA Arts Library are participating in the 2017 Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon. People of all gender identities are welcomed to join us to write women back into history. Learn, edit, contribute, or just stop by to show your support.
This event took place on Thursday, Feb. 23, 5–7 p.m.
UCLA Arts Winter Gathering
Broad Art Center, EDA
Open to faculty, students, and staff of the UCLA School of the Arts & Architecture
Please join us for an informal gathering to deepen connectivity and build community across our school. All faculty, students and staff of the school are welcome. Light Refreshments and beverages will be served.
Art as Resistance
This event took place on Monday, Feb. 13, 6–7:30 p.m.
Art as Resistance
Broad 2101
Art as Resistance is a monthly student-organized space in which artistic practice and political resistance can intersect, coexist, mutually inform, and work towards change. Art has always been at the center of any great social movement. From creating protest posters to hosting teach-ins on political art, Art as Resistance convenes those of us who want to bring our creative tools to the necessary work of resistance, community organizing, and critical political engagement.
This event took place on Thursday, Feb. 16, 5 p.m.
UCLA Intergroup Relations Program (IGR) and School of the Arts and Architecture Present: Dinner Dialogue on Free Speech
Bruin Plate Private Dining Room
The Bruin Plate Residential Restaurant is located in the Carnesale Commons Building
Free with RSVP
The purpose of the Faculty Student Dinner Dialogues is to create a space for students and faculty to build relationships and engage in discussion focused on key issues of interest to our campus community. These dinners are provided through the generous support of Residential Life and Intergroup Relations (IGR). This dinner is a partnership between IGR and the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture.
Understanding the Executive Orders
This event took place on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 7–9 p.m.
Understanding the Executive Orders
UCLA Law School Room 1347
RSVP
In these past couple of weeks, we have seen a flurry of action taken by the new administration. To sort through what these actions taken by the President mean for our community, we would like to invite you to an information session. Co-hosted with UC Undocumented Legal Center, UCLA School of Law, IDEAS, and the UCLA Labor Center, this session will be an overview of the recent Executive Orders and what we can do to ensure the safety of our community.
Hammer Conversations: "Show up, dive in, stay at it": How to Take Action Post-Election
Image courtesy: Hammer Museum
This event took place on Monday, Feb. 6, 7:30 p.m.
Hammer Conversations: "Show up, dive in, stay at it": How to Take Action Post-Election
Royce Hall
Free and open to the public
Inspired by President Obama’s final address, this public forum is focused on creating space for learning, organizing, and taking action under the new administration.
Jessica Yellin, former chief White House correspondent for CNN, moderates a panel of organization and community leaders who will share their respective points of view about potential or likely consequences of the election and the confirmation of the new administration, and offer suggestions to those who are interested in getting involved and taking action. Participants are Sue Dunlap of Planned Parenthood, Hector Villagra of the ACLU, and Lorri L. Jean of the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
CrossCheck Live: “Trumping Democracy?”
This event took place on Thursday, Feb. 2, 5 p.m.
CrossCheck Live: “Trumping Democracy?”
UCLA School of Law, Room 1347
The UCLA School of Law is located in North Campus off of Sunset Boulevard
Less than two weeks into Donald Trump’s presidency, the United States has witnessed unprecedented protests. The day after the inauguration, millions joined in “Women’s Marches” across the country and around the globe. This past weekend, thousands gathered at several American airports to condemn the President’s executive order targeting citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries. Meanwhile, the President has fired the Acting Attorney General for refusing to defend the executive order, and his Press Secretary has encouraged dissenting career diplomats to exit the State Department. Against this tumultuous background, the President is expected to announce his nomination for the Supreme Court as early as this evening, and Democrats have promised to filibuster any nominee who is outside of the mainstream.
Are we facing a constitutional crisis? Is the President’s conduct trumping core democratic values, such as freedom of religion, rule of law, and equality? Or is the President simply exercising the robust power of his position, which was conferred by the people? Are fundamental democratic commitments being sacrificed, or is the left simply overreacting because they are sore losers who disagree with Trump’s policy agenda? Is Trump’s exercise of executive power nothing more than the manifestation of the basic proposition that elections have consequences?
CrossCheck Live: Processing the Election
Image courtesy: CrossCheck Live
This event took place on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016, 5 p.m.
View a video recording of the event here.
CrossCheck Live: Processing the Election
Royce Hall Auditorium
Royce Hall is located in North Campus off of Sunset Boulevard
This event will offer us, as a community, a chance to gather, discuss, and digest yesterday’s Presidential election. Many of us were shocked by last night’s results. For some, this shock was accompanied by earnest excitement about our new President-elect. For others, the results have generated deep anxiety and distress – an understandable response given the rhetoric targeting certain communities throughout the campaign.
As Bruins, as members of a great university, it is our obligation to model how a community comes together in a moment like this to listen, to assess, to move forward. Together. Tomorrow’s CrossCheck Live, which attempts to bring together a range of perspectives and voices from across our campus, has been crafted in that spirit. Vice Chancellor Kang will personally moderate what will be a highly interactive and honest discussion, with opportunities for audience engagement.
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Statements and Resources
Resources from UCLA Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Interim dean David Roussève's Message Regarding President Trump's Executive Order on Immigration
The University's Statement in Support of Trans Members of the UC Community