UC Santa Cruz Social Sciences

10/09/2026

As the 2026 midterm elections approach, the conversation on representation and redistricting is HOT 🔥 On Oct. 28, 5:30-7:30 p.m., join the Institute for Social Transformation for Reshaping Representation: Midterm Elections and Emerging District Map Battles, the first event in the 2026–27 Resilient Democracy series.

The panel will explore the history of redistricting in the United States and examine how racial and partisan gerrymandering, redistricting commissions, changes to the Voting Rights Act and recent Supreme Court actions are shaping today's electoral landscape.

Our panelists, Sonal Shah, Elspeth Wilson and Erik J. Engstrom, will also discuss California's Proposition 50 and the intersection of race and partisan objectives in the redistricting process.

RSVP to attend this free event in person or virtually: https://events.ucsc.edu/event/reshaping-representation-midterm-elections-and-emerging-district-map-battles/

10/08/2026

With the help of donor support, the Institute for Social Transformation's Transforming Futures program is helping UC Santa Cruz social sciences students turn hands-on experiences into professional careers for community impact 🌱

Each summer, eligible students receive up to $8,000 to pursue unpaid or low-paying summer internships, which helps remove financial barriers to experiences that can shape their futures. For Cherre Bull, Josh Patstone and Maya Mendoza, internships with Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos were critical in impacting their future after graduation:

"Transforming Futures allowed me to be a part of Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos. I was able to give my all for them, which I would not have been able to do if I was just interning with them for free." — Cherre Bull (Merrill '26, politics and critical race and ethnic studies)

"Working at Barrios was truly life changing. I got to be a part of the community in such a different way than I had been as a University student." — Maya Mendoza (Kresge '24, environmental studies)

"I feel like my internship hasn't ended since taking part in Transforming Futures. It's continued because this relationship with Barrios Unidos has continued." — Josh Patstone (Oakes '23, sociology)

Today, Bull, Mendoza and Patstone are continuing that work through careers focused on youth, community development, social justice and systemic change. And their story continues: in summer 2026, Transforming Futures scholar Camila Alvarez '26 interned with Barrios Unidos and has since joined the organization as an Elevate Youth Peer Mentor and Immigrant Justice Coordinator.

Read more about their stories: https://news.ucsc.edu/2026/09/transforming-futures-alumni-turn-summer-scholarships-into-community-serving-careers/

10/06/2026

What can the history of working-class research teach us about today's labor movement? ✊ On October 20, 6–8 p.m. at the Cowell Ranch Hay Barn, join Ann Bookman, Gail Hershatter, Vicki Ruiz and Pat Zavella for Lineages of Workers Inquiry in the U.S.

This panel conversation explores the wave of working-class organizing, strikes and rank-and-file rebellion that shaped the 1970s. It also features the stories of feminist scholars and activists who documented and participated in these movements.

Together, their work asked important questions about class, exploitation, resistance, social reproduction, and the relationship between historical memory and ongoing struggles. Today, as younger generations enter the labor movement through union drives, salting, strike support, and other forms of organizing, these histories offer an opportunity to reflect on what we can learn from those who came before us.

Free and open to all, RSVP here: https://events.ucsc.edu/event/lineages-of-workers-inquiry-in-the-u-s/

10/05/2026

Fall quarter is officially in full swing🍂 Programs like Global and Community Health (GCH) give you in-class and career experience you need to pursue a career in public health or professional school to become a doctor, dentist, or pursue other medical pathways.

On Sept. 22, the GCH program hosted a major orientation to give students an overview of the program, degree requirements, what to expect from both the GCH B.A. and GCH B.S. degrees, and to meet program staff and faculty. If you missed it, you can always connect with an advisor by scheduling an appointment on their website: gch.ucsc.edu.

10/02/2026

5 minimum-wage jobs just to afford a 2-bedroom rental🚨 That is the reality for young workers in Santa Cruz County, which remains the least affordable housing market in the nation.

This housing disparity is only compounded by deep racial disparities, chronically low wages and wage theft, and higher rates of caretaking burdens among residents. A new report from the Center for Labor and Community that analyzed 2,175 survey responses and undertook dozens of interviews from 2024–2025 exposes the harsh conditions faced by our local working youth, including:

1. Residents in South County (which is predominantly Hispanic/Latino) bear the brunt of local segregation, severe housing overcrowding, and caregiving barriers that hold them back.
2. Local wages lag behind nearby countries, while 1 in 4 young workers report working off the clock and nearly 20% aren't paid for all hours worked.
3. Half of county residents have been forced to move against their will, with the majority spending over 70% of their income on rent.

The good news? Workers are ready for change. Severely rent-burdened youth are eager to join a union to fight for housing justice and living wages.

The full report shares recommendations for better supporting young workers by tying minimum wage to rent prices, expanding union participation, and investing in universal childcare.

🔗 Read the full Young Workers Project report now. Link in bio!

09/30/2026

09/29/2026

09/28/2026

Community-engaged research can be a powerful tool for building local power and creating more inclusive economic futures. Recently, Institute for Social Transformation faculty fellow and sociology professor Chris Benner and staff member Erika Katske put this work into action by joining The Funders Network for their tour of North State.

Here, they connected with community leaders and funders to better understand the gaps affecting rural communities and identify solutions to insufficient access to food, healthcare, and legal aid.

This work is part of the North State Inclusive Economic Development Collective, a group of 12 organizations across 19 counties that are all interested in expanding economic opportunity and community prosperity. The collective grew from the Community Economic Mobilization Initiative (CEMI), the Institute-supported capacity-building and grantmaking initiative led by .

Benner kicked off the tour by framing regional labor markets and economic opportunity. He explained how economic growth has become increasingly disconnected from working people's lives.

Afterward, organizational participants–Northern Valley Catholic Social Service, , Hmong Cultural Center of Butte County, and the – brainstormed ways to help rewrite the rules to benefit their communities and imagine what access makes possible. But collaboration takes time, staff, and sustained investment.

"All of our work is in addition to," said Erika Katske, Institute staff member and lead technical-assistance provider for the Collective. "Everyone is overbooked. The Collective is where we come together to think bigger-picture about what our future can look like."

Read more about the Collective + North State tour: https://www.smartgrowthcalifornia.org/2026/08/mending-the-net-what-funders-saw-in-the-north-state/

Image credit: Diana Williams and Chris Benner

09/25/2026

How do the questions raised in 2022's higher education labor strikes impact future labor struggles and how we exercise collective power?

Sarah Mason, director of the UCSC Center for Labor and Community and sociology Ph.D. alumna, answers in her latest co-published article in Critical Sociology.

The article examines the 2022 strike of 48,000 University of California academic workers, which was the largest strike in U.S. higher education history.

Drawing on research across the Berkeley and Santa Cruz campuses, the authors explore why workers developed sharply different assessments of the strike and its outcomes, and how contrasting organizing strategies and tactics shaped understandings of what was possible.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3Tkf4xh

09/23/2026

"You take away something that is very unique beyond what you learn in the classroom," says Jessica Lum (Rachel Carson '09, environmental studies and economics). "There is something else that you take along, that you learn, and that you embrace. That spirit of Santa Cruz is with you after your time on campus, wherever you go."

Since graduating from UC Santa Cruz, Lum has built a career in external affairs, serving mission-driven organizations, non-profit trade associations, and government. Recently, Lum has given back to campus through scholarship review and helping lead the UC Santa Cruz Alumni Council. Now, she's taking that commitment to the UC system level as UC Santa Cruz's sixth alumni regent!

This summer, she began her two-year term this month, representing our campus and more than 2 million UC alumni on the University of California Board of Regents. In the role, she'll serve as a bridge between alumni communities and the university's governing board.

Read more about Jessica's journey: https://news.ucsc.edu/2026/07/jessica-lum-to-serve-as-uc-santa-cruzs-sixth-alumni-regent/