The Oxnard College Scholars’ Lecture Series is back and better than ever this spring, with topics ranging from political change to binge drinking, from poetry to multiculturalism.
The first lecture will be held on Feb. 8 at noon in the Clock Tower auditorium at Oxnard College, where professional improvisers Katherine Boring and Jim Kasmir, of Ventura Area Theatre Sports, will discuss the social issues surrounding underage and binge drinking. They’ll use Image Theatre and improv techniques to lead the event. Oxnard College’s Executive Vice President of Student Learning Ramiro Sanchez is very proud the series.
“I believe our Scholars’ Series have been extremely successful in bringing a wide range of critical issues, historical perspectives and artists to our college community,” said Sanchez. “Comments from students, staff, faculty, administrators and local citizens have all been very positive.”
Twelve years ago, the Scholars’ Lecture Series was founded by Shelley Savren, writer/poet and full-time faculty member at Oxnard College. The series was created to bring art and culture to OC by hosting an educational speakers’ series for the students and the entire community, she said. The Lecture Series is presented by faculty members of Oxnard, Moorpark and Ventura Colleges, along with captivating guest speakers.
Savren is enthusiastic about the series this spring, and has been working hard to make sure students and members of the community know that the events are free and open to the public.
“We have posted posters all around our campus and have put flyers in all of the employee mailboxes,” said Savren. “We sent press releases to the papers, did follow-up calls and announced the programs on OCTV. We will also send faculty and staff weekly reminders.”
Because OC doesn’t have many cultural events on campus, this event is extremely important to the students, faculty, and administrators. Students are eager to attend the upcoming lectures and hope the information will be useful in their studies.
“I would hope that I would come away with a better understanding of the material,” said Oxnard College biology major Lori Hawes, 27. Hawes would love to gain “some new ideas or statistics for a paper” to help her with future class work.
With future events including topics like “Writing for Political Change”, a look at how and why poets portray conflicts in society; “A Celebration of Chicano Studies”, a discussion on the promotion of diversity and multiculturalism within places of higher learning; and “Inventing Movies”, focusing on how the art of movie making came from diverse areas of the world, not just Hollywood, the series is bound to be as fascinating as ever.
All are welcome to attend the lectures in LS 8, the Clock Tower auditorium, from 12-12:50 p.m. on Wednesdays. Arriving early will ensure that attendees will get a good seat, because there are only 88 seats available.
For more information on the Scholars’ Series at Oxnard, contact Shelley Savren at (805) 986-5800 ext. 1951, or [email protected].
