Pillar 3: UCSC Students in a Courageous and Interconnected Community
"You are a light. You are the light. Never let anyone - any person or any force - dampen, dim, or diminish your light. Study the path of others to make your way easier and more abundant." - John R. Lewis, 2017.
Getting Involved
Find Your Community at John R Lewis College
Student Employment at John R Lewis College:
- RA/NA
- A Resident Assistant (RA)/Neighborhood Assistant (NA) is a trained student leader who works to create and maintain a supportive community for residential students. Each RA is assigned to work within a specific community of students within the Residence Halls, Apartments, or International Living Center. RAs host a variety of social, academic, and cultural activities for their residents; act as a resource and mentor; and address any safety or security concerns that occur in their areas. RAs also take turns providing 24-hour emergency on-call support to support students with any safety or security concerns that arise.
- SHA
- A Student Housing Assistant (SHA) is a trained student leader who works to support our housing communities of the dorms and apartments through the Housing office.
- CoCo SPCs and CUIP interns
- CoCo Student Programs Coordinators (SPCs) create programs centered around College Nine and John R. Lewis College’s themes, in addition to supporting other college-wide programming and collaborations. In addition to supporting CoCo and college-wide programming, the CoCo CUIPs work to host Slugs 4 Self-Care (S4SC), lead student-facilitated college courses, and other cocurricular opportunities.
- PA/CA
- The Community Programs Assistants [Programs Assistant (PA)/Community Assistant (CA)] are part of the College Nine and John R. Lewis College Programs & Activities Team and work under the general supervision of the College Programs Coordinator. The Programs & Activities staff plan and produce community-wide programming at College Nine and John R. Lewis College (College Nights, Dances, etc.), and works collaboratively with other college units, staff at other colleges, departments, and student organizations. The Programs & Activities staff is also primarily responsible for campus-wide programs at College Nine and John R. Lewis College, including Welcome Week and the College Nine and John R. Lewis College Commencement Ceremonies.
- Event Staff/Tech Crew
- Our Event Staff provides technical support for events at our College Nine & John R. Lewis Colleges. This includes setting up and operating sound, video, and lighting equipment. Our crew is also responsible for arranging tables and chairs for events in our spaces. Hours vary - evenings and weekends are required.
- ILC Assistant
- The ILC Assistant provides coordinates both the Language Tables Program and the International Affairs Group, as well as completing administrative tasks and other special projects related to the management of the ILC.
- ABC Mentor
- ERC Internships
Student Groups at John R Lewis College:
Fall Quarter
- Slugs 4 Self-Care
- Slugs 4 Self-Care meets weekly to discuss and implement self-care practices for students.
CONTACT: coco@ucsc.edu
- Slugs 4 Self-Care meets weekly to discuss and implement self-care practices for students.
Fall and Winter Quarters
- Practical Activism Conference Planning Team
- The Practical Activism Conference is a daylong, student-led conference with speakers, organizations, and hands-on activism sessions. The conference is planned by a group of dedicated students who meet weekly in Fall and Winter Quarters. Student planners receive 2-units that fulfill the PR GE-Requirement for each quarter they participate.
CONTACT: coco@ucsc.edu or @practicalactivism on Instagram
- The Practical Activism Conference is a daylong, student-led conference with speakers, organizations, and hands-on activism sessions. The conference is planned by a group of dedicated students who meet weekly in Fall and Winter Quarters. Student planners receive 2-units that fulfill the PR GE-Requirement for each quarter they participate.
Winter Quarter
Social Justice Community Weekend (SJCW)
- Social Justice Community Weekend (SJCW; formerly known as Multicultural Community Weekend or MCW) is a biannual overnight retreat that brings together College Nine and John R. Lewis College students to deepen their awareness and connection to John R. Lewis College's theme of Social Justice and Community. Through a series of interactive exercises and small group discussions, students are given the opportunity to learn more about themselves and others by exploring areas impacting our individual identities (e.g. race, class, sexual orientation, gender), the C9/JRLC community, and our society as a whole.
CONTACT: coco@ucsc.edu
Spring Break
- Alternative Spring Break (ASB)
- Make a difference during spring break in the city of Watsonville, Santa Cruz County! Join a team of dedicated UCSC students working together for social justice and stronger communities.
CONTACT: Linnea Beckett, lbeckett@ucsc.edu
- Make a difference during spring break in the city of Watsonville, Santa Cruz County! Join a team of dedicated UCSC students working together for social justice and stronger communities.
Year-Long
- Community Garden Class and Group
- The College Nine & John R. Lewis College community garden class and group allow students to engage in a collaborative design process, learn hands-on skills and community gardening best practices, coordinate garden work days, strategize outreach, and build regenerative social and ecological systems.
CONTACT: 9gardenclub10@gmail.com or @ourgarden9.jrl on Instagram
- The College Nine & John R. Lewis College community garden class and group allow students to engage in a collaborative design process, learn hands-on skills and community gardening best practices, coordinate garden work days, strategize outreach, and build regenerative social and ecological systems.
- John R. Lewis College Governing Cooperative
- The "GoCo" is the College's student governing body. It appoints students to campus and college-wide committees, advises College administration on policy development, and provides monetary support to student organizations.
CONTACT: c10senate@gmail.com or @jrlgoco on Instagram
- The "GoCo" is the College's student governing body. It appoints students to campus and college-wide committees, advises College administration on policy development, and provides monetary support to student organizations.
- PRAXIS: Student Volunteer Community
- PRAXIS is a student-led organization geared toward community building and social justice. Each month PRAXIS members engage in a variety of volunteer opportunities throughout Santa Cruz County and neighboring communities.
CONTACT: ucscpraxis@gmail.com or @ucscpraxis on Instagram
- PRAXIS is a student-led organization geared toward community building and social justice. Each month PRAXIS members engage in a variety of volunteer opportunities throughout Santa Cruz County and neighboring communities.
- Lavender Club
Come celebrate and strengthen the queer community at C9/JRLC with this group open to all LGBTQ+ students and allies!
CONTACT: join the mailing list Links to an external site. for meeting updates
(H)acer Program: Apprenticeship in Community-Engaged Research
The Apprenticeship in Community-Engaged Research Program provides undergraduate students with a variety of opportunities to participate in community-engaged scholarship. (H)ACER trains students in participatory research methodologies and creates opportunities for students to work in real-world contexts. In collaboration with our community partners, students engage in projects that address pressing issues such as social, economic, educational, and environmental injustice through an approach that seeks to honor the cultural, social, and epistemological strength of community members.
Learn more about (H)ACER.
John R. Lewis College Presents: Solidarities for Justice
Necessary Trouble: Thinking with the Legacy of John R. Lewis
“Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.” – John R. Lewis
Ready for some necessary trouble? In anticipation and in honor of the dedication of John R. Lewis College at UC Santa Cruz, the Division of Social Sciences, Colleges Nine and Ten, the Institute for Social Transformation, and the Center for Racial Justice organized five events centered on topics exemplified by the life of Representative John Lewis. At UC Santa Cruz, we believe that the real change is us. The series aimed to highlight the efforts of faculty, students, staff, community leaders, and alumni in their commitments to social and racial justice, civic engagement, and democracy as a call for all of us to carry John R. Lewis’ legacy forward.
“We are one people, one family, the human family, and what affects one of us affects us all.” ― John Lewis
Contemporary society in the United States is characterized by sharp divisions. This fracturing can, and has, fomented conflict, hostility and violence. However, the concept of transcommunality, inspired by Kingian nonviolence and cultural lifeways of the Iroquois Confederacy (or Haudenosaunee), offers a different way of thinking about solidarity. As UCSC Emeritus Professor John Brown Childs explains, transcommunality “is a way to maintain particularistic, rooted affiliations and to create broad constellations of inclusive cooperation that draw from multitudes of distinctly rooted perspectives. Transcommunality emphasizes an ethic of respect in which mutual recognition and acceptance of diverse, and even divergent, perspectives occur among partners. This ethics of respect can lead to transformation of interacting participants as they learn more about one another and thus alter their outlooks.”
In this event, we take inspiration from the concept of transcommunality and talk about how social justice efforts necessitate solidarities of multiple kinds — across race, ethnicity, class, gender, geography, etc. — based on a shared humanity. We explore what kinds of transformations are possible when we co-envision a more socially just, peaceful and interdependent world.
Campus + Community
"Campus + Community’s leaders and affiliated members recognize that social justice and social change require a critical approach to community engagement. This approach values the knowledge held in the histories, lived experiences, and expertise of those from marginalized and oppressed communities. In our community engagements, we aim to: create and sustain authentic, equitable, and reciprocal collaboration; jointly produce, curate, and disseminate knowledge and understandings; and share resources in support of engaged scholarship."
Learn more about the Institute for Social Transformation's Campus + Community
Moving Forward
Time to wrap up this Pillar! When you apply for the GTA Completion Certificate (prior to Graduation), you will complete a final reflection addressing each of the Five Pillars and linking the values and commitments in each pillar to some of the leadership and learning experiences you have had at JRLC and UCSC.