Choi Auditorium

The Politics Department is looking forward to hosting Osita Nwanevu, a contributing editor at The New Republic and a columnist at The Guardian.

“It’s our stuff, and we should be allowed to fix it — not just in theory, in the real world,” (Engstrom, 2025).

Launched in 2017, the Barack Obama Scholars Program at Occidental College empowers the next generation of leaders in active pursuit of the public good. Honoring the legacy of Occidental’s most famous student, this scholarship program provides a comprehensive experience for exceptional students of all backgrounds who seek the opportunity to create meaningful and lasting change.

Learn more about the Obama Scholars program.

Oxy students will present the findings of their original research on gender-based violence in eight cities around the world. Hear about how cities gather data on gender-based violence (GBV), how that data can be flawed, and how data informs policy at the local level. We will also hear from representatives of mayoral staff from cities in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Open to all community members, especially those interested in preventing GBV, data collection, inter-city cooperation, policy development, and research.

Arrival is a 2016 American science fiction drama film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Eric Heisserer, based on the 1998 short story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang. The film stars Amy Adams as Louise Banks, a linguist enlisted by the United States Army to discover how to communicate with extraterrestrials who have arrived on Earth, before tensions lead to war. Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, and Michael Stuhlbarg appear in supporting roles.

Ted Chiang is an American science fiction writer. His work has won four Nebula awards, four Hugo awards, six Locus awards, and the PEN Malamud Award. His novella Story of Your Life was the basis of the film Arrival (2016). His most recent short story collection, Exhalation (Knopf), was listed as one of the Top Ten Books of 2019 by The New York Times, and included in President Barack Obama’s 2019 reading list. In 2023, he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in AI.

Their acclaimed documentary, The Yes Men Fix the World, chronicles some of their most unforgettable “identity correction campaigns”—infiltrating official conferences and media outlets by posing as corporate or government representatives, staging outrageous spectacles to address real-world injustices.

Join us for this rare screening, followed by an in-person Q&A with The Yes Men on their unusual—and highly entertaining—brand of political activism.

Presenting night #2 is Mikaeala Venice Dela Cruz, Soreya Stringfield, Norah Ruvalcaba, Isabel Flores, Siena Jarrin, Grace Meadows and Abigael Forgue

Students presenting on Night #1: Aminah Gassama, Ella Armstrong, Ananda Ravdandash, Jamie Pullin, Kate Brown, Karina Smith and Sophia Merrill

On Monday, April 21, 2025 from 6:30PM to 8:00pm in Choi Auditorium, Join Project SAFE in welcoming Breaking Silence, a Colorado-based nonprofit, for a screening of Stories of Survival—a film that sparks conversation, connection, and change.

The film takes the viewer through three stories of interpersonal violence on a college campus. After the film, stay for a powerful panel discussion, free goodies, and community. Your voice matters in this conversation.