Tag Archives: life

EVENT
Go to Ashoka Youth Venture’s “Be a Changemaker” Bootcamp for Free

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From the incredible Makaela Kingsley in the PCSE:

Our friends at Ashoka Youth Venture are offering free tickets for Wesleyan students who would like to attend their “Be A Changemaker Bootcamp” on Saturday, February 8, 10am-4pm at Boston University. Interested? Read the details below then email Makaela in the Patricelli Center at mjkingsley(at)wesleyan(dot)edu to reserve your ticket today!

Do you see a social problem in your community and wish to take action to address it?  Join us on Saturday February 8 for a changemaking experience you won’t forget! The Youth Venture Be A Changemaker Bootcamp will bring youth from across the Boston area together to participate in a day-long bootcamp focused on social venture creation and the development of changemaker skills that can be applied toward civic contributions and a career that impacts the lives of others in meaningful ways. 

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EVENT
Keystone XL Pipeline Protest Interest Meeting

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From Zach Burns ’14, Isabel Stern ’14, and Evan Weber ’13:

On Sunday, February 17, thousands of Americans will head to Washington, D.C. to make Forward on Climate the largest climate rally in history.

That means a fuckton of Wes-kids need to be there to make our voices heard and help the president start his second term with strong climate action by rejecting the Keystone XL Pipeline.

This is a big deal, and the more people we bring, the bigger it will be and the more fun we will have. Come to the UOC (University Organizing Center, between Beta and Eclectic) at 2pm on Sunday to find out all the deetz and make transportation and other logistical plans.

In 2009, sitting at a table with a bunch of young environmental organizers, President Obama told them: “Your job is to push me.” Unless we show him and the newly appointed Secretary of State John Kerry that lighting off one of the biggest carbon bombs in North America is a really, really, bad idea, he won’t have the political courage to reject this pipeline that climate activists, the media, and Congressional Republicans have turned into a huge political issue. So come to the meeting on Sunday, find out more about the action and the issues, and get pumped to move forward.

Date: Tomorrow, February 3rd
Time: 2pm
Place: University Organizing Center (between Beta and Eclectic)

NYT Op-Ed on Slave Labor, otherwise known as Unpaid Internships

As Winter slowly peels back its rough insurgency against Spring (and what a tough bastard it is), we see peeking over the horizon small hints of Summer and everything it brings – flip-flops, sunshine, warm (see: boiling hot) weather, people with marginal articles of clothing on them, long afternoons by the lake, and – indeed – internships.

FUCKING. Intern. Ships. And, with the economy the way it is and firms the way they are, it’s more likely than not that you progressive kids who choose the summer path of internship will be doing so without receiving even a dime from they who choose to “employ” you (in fact, it’s probably the case that you’re shelling out quite a bit for the whole experience). It’s a bit of a strange system, when you really think about it, even more so when you consider colleges – the very institutions that are supposed to help us get paid at the end of the day – are a vital component of this complex.

This is the principal issue that Ross Perlin, a youngish Stanford-produced semi-intellectual, addresses in a recent op-ed published by the NYT last Saturday.

“Colleges,” writes Perlin, “have turned internships into a prerequisite for the professional world but have neither ensured equal access to these opportunities, nor insisted on fair wages for honest work.” Colleges. What bastards.

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