Caltech Y - Student Activism Speaker Series
The Caltech Y Student Activism Speaker Series (SASS) is a student-driven effort to promote awareness of global issues and to challenge the Caltech community to address world needs, both within the scientific disciplines and beyond. The Caltech Y is an independent 501c3 organization formally affiliated with the California Institute of Technology, founded by students in 1916. To learn about it's other activities, visit the Caltech Y website.
The Student Activism Speaker Series seeks to expose Caltech students and the community at large to the many diverse issues that face them, both locally and globally, so that they may use their skills, ingenuity, and leadership to address these issues. The speakers are from varied backgrounds yet all have dedicated their lives to important social struggles. Their ability to share their experiences with students, bringing new awareness and stimulating thought and discussion, is part of what makes the series a success. SASS provides a forum for students to explore issues that may be controversial on campus and in the community and seeks to promote an awareness of current issues, a confidence in one's ability to affect social change, and the knowledge of how to do so.
Past speakers include:
- 2019 Scott Pace - Executive Secretary, National Space Council
- 2004 Bernie Sanders - U.S. Congressman
- 1999 Dolores Huerta - Co-Founder of the United Farm Workers Union
- 1987 Betty Friedan - Feminist Author and Activist
- 1958 Martin Luther King, Jr. -Civil Rights Leader
To see a full list of previous speakers, visit the Caltech Y speakers history page.
The SASS Committee is an independent organization affiliated with the Caltech Y, open to any member of the Caltech community. Fund raising, speaker selection, and program coordination are conducted under the direction of the student committee with support and advising from Caltech Y staff.