Fifth Annual All Power to the Imagination! (API) conference this week

The fifth annual All Power to the Imagination! (API) conference begins Fri., Apr. 20 and ends on Sun., Apr. 22. On Friday and Saturday, the conference will run from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., with a lunch break in between, while API will end by 2:00 p.m. on Sunday according to third-year Nolan Bensen, one of the API organizers this year and a former Catalyst staff writer .

The first API was held in the spring of 2007. “[API is] about labor rights and about radical leftist politics, anarchism and anything that can feasibly be related to that,” Bensen said.

The conference will include presentations by speakers, panels and discussions, which will take place in HCL 7, HCL 8 and the Black Box Theater (BBT). On Friday, API will host an open-mic night and a house party, and on Saturday is the API Wall.

Presenters include groups from the Institute of Anarchist Studies in Puerto Rico, the School of the Americas Watch in Washington, D.C. and several students and alumni. “A teacher from around here named Kate Chandler is going to give a talk … about drones in the military and their increasing use and the meaning of this,” Bensen said. “There will be a few different caucuses — which means discussions that are not just led by one person — on being a white ally, on organizing in response to the Republican National Convention in Tampa that’s coming up and [on other topics].” Bensen said there will also be a presentation by an alum on how to make eco-friendly soap.

Alum presenters include Alexander Cline (’07), who will present on the School for Designing a Society in Illinois. “He’ll probably be presenting on behalf of the school, talking about their model of education,” Bensen said. “One thing they’re really big on is community outreach and involvement with different workers’ rights groups.”

Bensen said the API organizers acquired $2,200 from the Student Allocations Committee (SAC) to purchase plane tickets for presenters to attend the conference. Additional money came from API fund raising and money leftover from the 2011 conference. Food will be purchased using organizers’ Hamilton “Ham” money.

After the conference ends on Sunday, Bensen said organizers and attendees will go to a Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) protest at a nearby Publix.

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