Planet. People. Power.
Alliterate the words in any order and discover the essence of a sustainability advocate on campus: Cal Poly’s Be the Change 2010.
On Saturday, April 24, day six of Empower Poly Coalition’s week-long festival, the Be the Change student leadership training conference will be hosted on campus to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
“The goal is to unite students to create a future that is economically viable, socially just and environmentally responsible,” said Be the Change 2010 director Jorge Montezuma.
Montezuma said the strength of a community is in its sustainable numbers, and Saturday’s leadership gala presents an opportunity to share wisdom among fellow students and members of the populace.
“We want to bring a new wave of leaders together so everybody can learn from everybody,” Montezuma said, while drums and a guitar echoed in the background and wind tried to ruin a day of activism when it nearly blew over the white pop-up tent overhead.
Organizers are expecting nearly 100 guests at this year’s sustainable leadership workshop; the festival has doubled each year since 2007.
Montezuma said social roots must be allowed to flourish.
“Grass roots sustain the soil and provide food for microorganisms; so, in essence, roots are people in the community and sustain us. And since we live in a bigger community, we must learn to live with those around,” he said. “In order to do this, we have to invest time and money into the community.”
While money presents itself as a necessity, Empower Poly Coalition director Sam Gross said money should be used as a tool and not seen as just an end product.
“Sustainability is living in a way which provides the future with ways to survive,” he said.
This year, Be The Change is action-based, Montezuma said, and Saturday’s free festivities include yoga, workshops, networking and free food.
The all-day fête kicks off at 8:30 a.m. with a one-hour yoga session, then breakfast, followed by keynote speaker Jan Spencer, who travels the country sharing insight and experience relevant to creating sustainable communities.
After lunch, workshops running 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m present activists-in-training with basic skills to evoke change. Each workshop features presenters who will teach skill-building concepts applicable in any issue-related forum. For example, Chad Worth, a 2009 Cal Poly industrial engineering graduate, said he will aim to keep his workshop interactive and video-based, giving the theme-name “interactive brainstorming.”
Worth said the core to his 25-minute session revolves around examples of activism, highlighting a group he founded last year called the Carrot Mob, which is like a reverse boycott. The Mob recently instilled “green” change in a quick mart on Broad Street and increased the store’s revenue in the process.
“People advocate every day and may not know what it is they are fighting for. Protests aren’t limited to chaining yourself to a tree, although they have their place and time,” Worth said. His workshop is titled, “Activism in the 21st Century: This Ain’t Your Parent’s Protest.”
Another workshop headed by Cal Poly graduate and One Cool Earth employee Greg Ellis will deal with internal conflict and its resolution. Titled “Deep Democracy,” Ellis said he hopes to discuss theories of decision-making and conflict resolution, especially in groups.
There are 12 workshops dealing with organization and leadership. Each runs approximately 20 to 25 minutes. All activities take place within the Science and Math Building, 52.
According to Gross and Montezuma, the festival wouldn’t have happened without help from sponsors and Cal Poly clubs such as SLO Food, Fair Trade, Zero Waste and Net Impact.
Contact Jorge Montezuma at cpbethechange@gmail.com to register, or register on the Saturday before the festival begins.