Like to give a shout out to Roberta our finance camp a finance campaigner with the Sunrise projects Which is part of Black Rock's big problem last year. They had a win in getting Black Rock to divest from thermal coal She will join us later to discuss next steps This webinar will be recorded and posted on YouTube for everyone to share for those of you Joining us on zoom and Facebook if you can introduce yourselves in the chat box or comment section on Facebook and tell us your first name And where you are from and what inspired you to join the call Our guests today are Amanda Gaia Diego Esteban Pitzer College students who developed the campus campaign requesting that their college divest The school's endowment from Black Rock the student senate passed this request overwhelmingly 16 to 1 Amanda negaia Diego Esteban Welcome i'm going to pass it on to my colleague Kelsey Who has a set of questions to ask you take it away Kelsey? Hi everyone Thanks for meeting on here today I Guess our first question for you all is we just really would love to hear how you Developed the campaign initially and how you grew it Amanda do you want to start with the phone? um, yeah, I can start um so I was sort of loosely involved with the no tech for ice campaign going on the summer of 2019 So that campaign kind of focused on which corporations specifically tech corporations that profited from immigrant detention um and As a result of their work that those activists were doing a lot A lot of information came to the surface about which corporations as a whole were profiting from immigrant detention and private prisons and I found that many universities were really involved with this um Either the prison industrial complex or family separation and immigrant detention um And it you know kind of led me to want to research deeper into what the college I was about to enter into as a first year. Um What they were involved in um So yeah, it was a surprise then to learn that we had um a board of trustee member and our endowment sort of funneled through BlackRock one of the largest um Funders of private prisons immigrant detention among a lot of other things Yeah Yeah, um, and I think from I guess from like our Amanda's display on like the free wall and then Which sort of tied BlackRock to Pitzer. Um It's we sort of like took the reins It's sort of like being people that were really focusing on educating ourselves And then educating a larger student body Um, we made a lot of we started off like making a lot of posters just getting the information out there because it's a very like It's not something very simple. They can like find out It took a lot of work and effort from everybody else to find all the information And so the main goal is like spread all the news as much as we could um And then we we went out we reached out to presidents melvin oliver and the Head of the board trustees, um, do you remember his name again? Um and gold Yeah Yeah, um, and so we talked to them to hear their perspective like on why we have A vice chairman of BlackRock on our board trustees and why BlackRock is one of the companies that we choose to invest in down with um And then from all that it was clear that the administration didn't find any of this as being an issue Um, they they found as a BlackRock was a virtuous company that was helping them to like strive to for better investments And so we saw this all as being signs of greenwashing on the behalf of BlackRock Um giving BlackRock all this good press saying that pictures divested because of BlackRock Um, just didn't feel sit right for any of us. And so we continued pushing pushing until we got wrote the senate Resolution we spread it to as many students as possible guys may do as possible sign on We had over I think 150 signatures for students And then it eventually got passed in student senate 16 to 1 which was amazing That's really amazing. So I guess our next question you've kind of covered it already Um, but could you expand more on why uh, you chose BlackRock? uh, yeah so BlackRock it's I suppose it wasn't like a choice as it was like a choice for the administration to work with BlackRock um We doing like basic amounts of like research into BlackRock. We found out that the uh They're one of the largest investors in Private prison detention centers the largest one of the largest contributes to climate change And pits are being a college that is has very strong core values Too specifically of an environmental sustainability and social responsibility It was clear that our investment practices with our endowment was not fitting those core values and um Coming after BlackRock and coming after this whole our endowment was more to put pizzer in a line with their In line with their core values. Um, and on top of that um having allowing BlackRock to work with a college such as pizzer that puts social responsibility and environment sustainability in forefront is We allow ourselves to greenwash on their behalf, which is almost more problematic as it makes black it paints BlackRock as the beginning of life that they're not causing so much the environment And a lot of people Yeah, just to put some of the things that Gaia said into perspective Um of the unethical nature of BlackRock. Um You know, they are the biggest, um They are one of the biggest shareholders of private prisons and immigrant detention They have an 11 percent stake and 12 percent stake in 11 percent stake in core civic and 12 percent stake in geo group and together those Those investments in those shares are worth seven hundred and twenty eight million dollars Um, additionally, they're the largest The largest investor in coal companies around the world coal fired utilities oil and gas companies And companies that are driving deforestation. So It is incredibly as Gaia said, it's incredibly contradictory that uh school that is uh that grounds itself in environmental justice and responsibility and social responsibility is invested with this asset manager So I just want to turn to our participants. We have uh over 34 participants right now If any of you have any questions Um for the students or speakers Please go ahead and put them in your chat and the chat box or um comment on facebook and uh, we'll hold those questions to the end of the Webinar what I'd like to do now Is introduce cody our next facilitator Um and invite reberda In and to the conversation Great, thanks, nancy. Um, thanks to all the the awesome folks who've been sharing this story so far. Um Like nancy said this question is for all of the students as well as Uh, reberda. What are the next steps you all have? Uh with their campaign Yes, thank you so much everyone, uh for inviting me and for organizing This webinar. I just wanted to say like I am so, um, impressed and inspired by The organizing that's been happening a pizza college. Um, as you may know our campaign really focuses on the climate problem The black rock has and I always look at you all a pizza to really Expose the other problems the black rock has which includes the investment in private prison detention centers and the list goes on and um, so really yeah stuck to be here and uh in terms of uh next steps as well I I can only speak To the climate aspect of it and I would love to hear from students What are your next steps so that I can really learn from you and support your efforts as well? But um Very briefly, um for those who don't know actually in january, uh, larry think who's the CEO of black rock He issued is uh an annual letter. He does so every year He um over the years. He has positioned himself as the soul of wall street He goes on every year and sends a message to all the other CEOs of wall street And to his clients and basically tell them that we got to do good. Like we don't have to just um Think about profits, but we also have to think about social good And it's uh, it's ironic that this message comes from comes from him every year because As the students did a great job at uh exposing The issues with black rock. They are the largest investors in everything that is nasty on this planet From human rights abuses to um, you know, climate destruction companies. And so It's hilarious how larry think is trying to position himself as such leader um, and so that's how the campaign was started a couple of years ago really to um expose this contra addiction, uh, that black rock Has been driving and so this year in his annual letter. Um, he actually, um announced some very policies that um That are meant to Black rock exposure to uh, climate destructive companies. And so in their core policy, they pledged to um, divest, uh, some of their money from uh, from uh, call, uh companies, but As we and also they pledged to to, uh, increase the number of esg funds in their portfolio And also at some point a few months later, they also pledged to start working around To start engaging the companies that they're invested in that are driving deforestation and indigenous rights abuses in the amazon and other And other delicate ecosystems across the globe, but um as we took a deeper Look at these announcements and these policies We noticed that there was just so many flaws and so many loopholes. Um, and so You know, despite these announcements, actually, but black rock still remains the largest investor in everything that is bad On this planet. And so as a campaign right now, we're really continuing to a To pressure them to really keep them accountable for these announcements that they have made and not only just that but to improve These policies that they have announced because they're just like very weak and honestly, they don't do anything in terms of Solving their climate and human rights problems. And so so that's one thing that we're doing and then The other thing is shareholder season is starting I think it was uh, Diego who mentioned how black rock is also is the larger But the nature of its business is the largest shareholder company in a lot of these companies And so not only they can influence companies by threatening to divest their money But also they can threaten companies and ceos by the other proxy voting.  And so like their power is just immense And so shareholder season is starting in may and so black rock is going to be able to really vote Their conscience and these different agms. And so in terms of specific next steps, there's a lot of votes that they can That they can really exercise But there's one particular vote that I wanted to share with you all that I think it's really really important So black rock is also one of the major shareholders of uh, jp morgan chase, which is the worst bank Possible in the world that they are also the largest funder investor of fossil fuels And um, and actually they're independent Board chair one of the most powerful men on the planet His name is lee rayman and he calls all the shots at chase especially now that the CEO of chase is recovering from an illness and so So there's gonna be a vote in jp morgan chase agm where basically black rock has the power to Vote against the reelection of lee rayman and so why is this important lee rayman for those who don't know He's actually the former He's actually the former ceo And board member of exxon And so he spent his entire career Basically funding research to To deny the existence of climate change and also to really Manipulate the conversation happening around climate change. He was also part of the exxon new So really just like he knew very well what the issues with climate change were but he did a very Best like he used all this power and money and resources to make sure that there was not going to be any action taken in terms of tackling climate change and um, he was also Of the board of the api, which is the american petroleum institute Which is one of the biggest influential groups from the fossil fuel industry out there And right now, you know, it's on the board of chase.  Because their vote has so much power and influence and we can absolutely Absolutely get a huge bank like chase to change If we get off the uh, if we get lee rayman off the board So yes, thank you and stay tuned. I will send you more details soon Cheers Thank you, roberta for sharing your next steps. Uh, let's go ahead and hear what the next steps are for the, uh pitzer college students Yeah, so definitely like Uh dealing with the issues roberta mentioned And having the conversations around those are huge um We have compiled a lot of research and Um, luckily we were able to bring that research to students in it and get our resolution passed Um, as it currently stands, we are trying to bring that resolution to college council Which at our college is comprised of faculty staff and students and That council will be responsible for voting on it um Whenever the council reconvenes, obviously, this is a very Up in the air kind of situation um But we are currently lobbying for That to be voted on Because at that point once college council approves of Our divestment Fully from from black rock and from these issues Um, we hope that president melvin oliver will sign off on it and we will fully be divested We are aware that there is a huge potential for melvin oliver to veto um This bill once it gets passed um But I can let one of the other activists sort of speak on that Yeah, um, I can speak to that a little. Um So yeah, as amanda mentioned, there is a huge, um possibility that melvin oliver um With, you know, the history of uh, some undemocratic nature in the past, um You know, there's a huge possibility that he can that he will veto this and so You know, we're taking the institutional route for now, you know, we are Um, we passed this through through student senate and now it's moving on to the next governing body, you know college council and We think this is the best option to do first before You know, we take any action that is that is outside of the institutional realm Whether that be a college shutdown, which I think Some of my some of my other colleagues can speak to that. Um but yeah, um knowing that he can, um Veto this at any moment and knowing that he has vetoed very important, um legislation in the past such as our bds bill will our suspension from the university the israeli university of hypha um, you know, I think what we want to do is really educate a lot of the people, um at our college and at the other four colleges because When reflecting, you know as a coalition, I think we reflected a lot on last year's, um suspension of the israeli university of hypha study abroad program that we have, um You know, we thought that we needed to divest from that study abroad program because it discriminated, um Students on the basis of ethnicity and religion. Um So and we thought pitzer was being complicit when with, uh, palestinian oppression and in the israeli palestine conflict um So what we learned from reflecting on that is that you know, Popular mobilization really does work, you know, we really can make an institutional change if, um, you know, if all students if Masses of students are educated and are passionate about this issue. I think that's what really resulted from, um Last year's movement to suspend the university of hypha program study abroad program And so I think that's always an essential next step for any movement, you know, this, uh, education of of of all of all people, um Because we want people to know that we want people to strive for ethical investment We want these private institutions these huge multinational Corporations to strive for ethical investment and nothing less, you know, we want people to know we want, um People to know that we're not going to stand by when private institutions are profiting handsomely from As reberda mentioned, you know, some of the most unethical practices in the us And we want people to we want to show people that it is possible Um in this incredibly unethical capitalist world that you can value people over profit And I think maybe just one more thing to add. Um, also, can you guys hear me? Okay um So we we mentioned You know a lot of the there's a growing sentiment in the pigs or community Um, there are a lot of people are disillusioned with, you know, the undemocratic nature of You know the executive administrators in the past who really are the powerhold those in the situation. Um As we demonstrated when melvin oliver vetoed the To suspend the hypha program So there are there are a range of actions, right that we can take that fall under this realm of civil disobedience Um, and that would just require us to organize even further, especially with other student organizations that have similar stakes um In this issue in you know in the issues that black rocks invest in um, so If you're a student, um watching this right now in our part of an organization That is affected by issues that you know black rock was invested in please reach out Um, and we would love to organize further with with you all faculty as well Um, and that's something we're already in the process of doing. Um, certain affinity groups certain departments um That have shown support And I think beyond that as well You know pitchers one school that has this kind of relationship with black rock Um, so also looking beyond pitcher and organizing with other institutions And other organizations, um that are also in the same fight sort of like reberda Was touching on um and really trying to combine all their forces and and Because if one of them, you know, one of us hits them, you know, it might Slightly give a den or something. Um, but we'd have much more power if we were organizing Um across, you know, a white spread coalition of different institutions um organizations So Yeah, I think that was just one thing I wanted to add about looking beyond the campus as well and really thinking About the issues on a more macro level nice Cool. Thanks, estaban. And I think that on that on that same vein. Is there any other? Lessons that any y'all have to pass off for other students who are looking to start similar divestment campaigns On their campuses as well um Yeah, I can speak to this a little bit. Um You know, we've definitely it's been a learn as we go process people like uh, Diego worked on the the hypha campaign before so Um and and Dan Siegel as well. Um, so we we Bringing in people that have, you know dealt with similar campaigns in the past has has uh been a huge help and that would be one point of advice is to um Reach out to those kind of individuals who have experience. Um in these kind of campaigns and movements um With that just being persistent and keeping the conversation always kind of constructive Always positive in the sense of that you're creating um new ideas or you're Asking new questions and you're being persistent and you're not letting up um, especially when you're going against the school like pitzer and You know company like black rock who have Who who have gone through this, you know before with other organizations and and kind of Have a lot of experience fighting back So being persistent and and keeping the pressure is extremely important And something we've been talking already about before Um organizing with as many community members as possible, you know, looking for that common denominator with a lot of other groups and organizations You know looking at what the actual points of unity are that appeal to different groups in the community And bringing them all in because i'm sure You know the the more you dig deep and the more you you know more research you do in the more Conversations you have with different people you start to realize that there is a common denominator that everyone can organize around Anticipating counter arguments from the school and the company is has been huge um, so we can kind of be um When we kind of expect these responses where you know, we're ready with things to say about them And they're usually kind of these very capitalist for-profit, you know arguments That um have a certain logic and when you understand that There are there are ways to you know Present different logics like putting people before profit or putting the environment um before profit um And i'll add one more thing and then you know other people can add stuff in but um a big one was meeting people where they're at um You know a lot of people or you know, we're ready to get down immediately and you know already sort of know the nature of um companies like black rock um But a lot of people you sort of have to walk them through the steps and you know walk them through the arguments in a way that resonates with them um And not jumping immediately at you know the the core The core of it but sort of meeting them where they're at understanding their perspective and their background And getting them to where you're at and not judging someone immediately because they're they're not in favor of them Of the movement Yeah, I I want to add something to that. Um It's really important to meet people where they're at, you know, and I think this I think like it um as I mentioned earlier, you know, like we want, uh The masses of people to be educated and organized, you know, and I think meeting people where they're at, you know Is a really important Aspect of popular education, you know, um, you can't expect everyone to be at the Where where you're at, you know, and so it's important to meet those people where they're at and Help them understand and help yourself understand that this issue is very interconnected and that This organizer that you were, you know, trying to Build a coalition with also has a stake in this because as we've seen black rock is invested in some of the most unethical things And you know a plethora of unethical things in across the world So I think it's really important to meet people where they're at, you know, it's integral to popular education And one thing I did want to add I guess another Point of advice is coalition building, you know, I can't stress enough how important coalition building is as as the ban mentioned earlier We've been getting a lot of help, you know and just support From students for justice in Palestine, you know, this is something That they really care about as well. And so that has helped us out a lot because you know They are a very organized club on campus and You know as as the one mentioned this was a learn as we go, you know process So there was ups and downs and like the movement, you know, there was Um a lack of dialogue at one point, you know dialogue was being stifled because you know, because this was just such a controversial issue on campus, but You know getting the support from clubs like students for justice in Palestine was huge, you know, because Their club members were immediately in support and were willing to help in any way So coalition building can be really important and helpful Yeah, I think my own, um biggest piece of advice is that like no matter like how daunting a task may seem I feel like like anything is possible. Um, a lot of this like this issue seems like It would take years to like even address to like make it to this point But just from like the hard work of a couple of people we managed like make huge strides and have this resolution passed um And with that like you if you're trying to do any kind of activism work being a student and then trying to change your college You really need to be like the biggest thing is to be educated Because when you're trying to make a call like to make any, um movement like this the administration the staff always assumes that you come from a place of ignorance And so any communication they have with you they try and um, Sort of the little your understanding they try and talk down to you and then just telling Coming back with like that you do you do know the fact that you do know the research And then the things they're saying some of them like are just false Some of them are misconstrued all these things are ways and tactics for them to like put you down And being prepared to rebuttal and being very like confident all the research that you have done Is extremely essential in making any of these movements successful Yeah, definitely like the preparation aspect of things um and coalition building as Diego and Esteban mentioned just the fact that black rock was um or still is involved in so many different issues um there are many different groups whether it's students for justice and Palestine or um respective affinity groups um or the sunrise movement whose students have been doing a lot of really great work um They all have this connection of black rock funding these things and money really does you know Push these things further And without the funding a lot of these issues wouldn't be as prevalent as they are and so black rock being the root of a lot of these issues Was very important and very important to to let people know this issue impacts everyone really um And yeah, just um as gaya mentioned like continually fighting um you are as a student activist you're going to be you know Put down because the administration assumes you don't know what you're talking about um or they make the assumption that you know there's something else behind it or you just you know want to protest about something in reality um you know, this is a major corporation that is um knowingly taking part in a lot of these things um and just knowing that as a student activist like what you do does matter um you know the The work of kids or students in the past trying to Have us divest fully from fossil fuels and still some questions raised about that But the work those protesters and activists have done in the past the work of summarize movement kids across the nation And even back in the 80s with the divestment from South Africa um You know, those were extremely impactful movements And it really shows the power and the effort of student leaders um and despite you know the emotional and mental toll that it takes and the fact that you know we are full-time students and then Sometimes uh You know full-time full-time activists. Sorry about that. Yeah, I do have a bird. Um The um The fact is that we're not compensated for our work, but we Go about these things because we do truly care about the change that is going to come from them so knowing that When things do get really difficult because they they will get difficult Great, thank you all so a final question before we move over to q&a Um So uh knowing that a lot of us are under a stay-at-home order. Um, how can people get involved? Um immediately from their homes. Do you all have any suggestions? Uh, yeah, so we have a uh, we have like an online change.org petition set up that people can fill out You can send it to anybody and everybody to have uh to have them fill up So on final we're just trying to get uh as many signatures as possible just to show that just to show the pitzer administration more specifically melvin oliver our president That people really do care about this year and this is some change that they really do want and that Pitzer needs to hold that they're uh to hold true to their core values Yeah, and I think in addition to that just knowing You know taking time for yourself is okay. Um, this is obviously a pretty unprecedented time for everybody um, and I think a lot of people have this feeling that we have to be productive in In isolation and it's very difficult. Um myself I I've lost somebody to COVID-19 and I'm sure you know, it's an issue impacting almost everybody um, and so taking time for yourself that you know that rest is resistance um In making sure that you get what you need. Um, especially for student activists We've also got all of our our courses going on and dealing with um, you know, how are grades going to turn out how is You know the rest of this going to turn out in the midst of You know what feels like the end of the world sometimes Um, you know dealing with that. Um, yeah Yeah, your rest is resistance. I think that's also just really important Well, I just want to thank you all for joining and taking time out and so sorry to hear about your loss Amanda You all are just an inspiration and your tenacity and your persistency Is so inspiring To us and what i'm going to do now Um, is i'm going to pass it over to carly carly has been collecting The questions from our participants. So carly want to take it away Sure. Thanks, Nancy. Um, so thanks for everyone who has submitted questions in the q&a chat box Um, you know, it looks like all of the questions that were submitted have a very similar theme So i'm going to combine them and ask the students and also reberda if you can answer Um, a lot of people are interested in hearing more about Um, what are what your plans are for reinvestment, right? So, um, I think a lot of people on this call understand are on board with Um, the fact that black rock is invested in these terrible companies Um, but they're wondering what can we place our endowment in what should we be investing in and just Curious if you all have any thoughts on that. Um, so the first question was directed at reberda So maybe we can start with reberda and then move on to the students Uh, yes, I um, I am sure that the students have done research in terms of finding alternative asset managers to black rock and so I will let them speak on that um, generally speaking The asset management world just because capitalism sucks. It's really hard to find a good one And so I think there's a question of like reinventing the whole system to be honest. Um, and so There is no like good actor out there What I will say is that there are better actors.  And so, um, so there's one point There are other asset managers are a little bit better And I actually wanted to share a report that one of our partners released recently, um, they're called share action and they recently released a Scorecard and so they looked at asset managers not just in the us but also from europe And they basically graded them like based on their investments. Um, I think it was mostly focused on climate And so you can see that there are some asset managers in europe that they're way better Then the asset managers in the us you will see in this report that all the us asset managers are just the biggest laggards And so they're all terrible um, and I just wanted to also, um Let everyone know that a very, um Something that happened in january It was either like at the end of december or january. Actually, uh, japan's government pension investment fund, which I think it's Worth 1.6 trillion dollar, um, they actually moved their money out of black rock because at that time black rock was not Really taking any actual climate. They moved their money out of black rock and they basically opened a contract with, um Uh, a european a european asset manager company legal and general, uh, which you know, they're more aligned to To the the pension fund Sets of values and so it's totally doable. The other option is like pizzer. They could manage their own funds in house That's something that universities do I think for example, I went to uzi berkeley. Um, so this may be outdated information But when I was a student and I was also, um Helping with the with the divestment campaign if I remember correctly the ucs they managed their assets in house They did not have external asset manager. So that's an option too. Um, so Yeah, so that's kind of like my share on this, but I'm sure the students probably even have specific recommendation So I'll pass it on to the students Yeah, I mean to I'm sure gaya has the specifics on particular groups if we choose that route, um But yeah, also calpers um, so california, um State employees, uh Their board of administration also, um Start to divest from oil and gas and to sort of Be more engaged, um with access and be more engaged with workers rights and um, you know A more ethical Um standpoint when it came to investing. So, you know, it's also something that had Happened here in california. Um, and I think back in like 2009 Columbia university divested from private prisons um, so is not a radical notion it is not out of the um Out of the realm of possibility it is something that has been done before Um And it's it's not a huge ask But yeah, yeah, I think gaya has the specifics on groups Yeah, um, so giving like a little bit of background before I like talk about that um picture picture was once invested in fossil fuels and so in 20, I believe it was 2012 We made the decision to divest and then 2014 we eventually uh invested alongside black rock um And so like the steps to divesting is like Disclose divest and reinvest and to do a great job of disclosing that like we were invested in fossil fuels and then Divert different fossil fuels. However, they made they made that false step of uh reinvesting alongside black rock um, and so our the main our goal is to make sure that that last step is fall through in like a correct way and so one of the things that we have in our resolution is to Um, make sure that the decision as to where they choose to invest their endowment next is one that's decided by a larger discussion That's not limited just to the administration Um, so that would be like a discussion including faculty staff and students as well Um, this way it's like something that encompasses a larger body than just the faculty or just the administration Um as answering like a little bit more specific funds that we found our asset manager that we found ourselves um We found a little bit information about uh calvert asset management Trillium and boston common asset management. Those three are like the three ones that we found to be like the most uh I guess so should we respond to one of them? Um, but also I did read this. Um, the uh share action um file which is awesome Listing the top 40, uh, largest asset management companies across the like across the world and ranking them all And honestly if we find something that's like an asset manager on that list as well, that could also definitely be uh A great opportunity for picture drive that's instead What's really difficult is that as we're the student The the activists putting on like the burden of like pushing our college to do more People also expect us to be the ones to like uh reach out to these asset management companies Create the contracts do x y z when in reality we're full-time students We're not we don't have finance degrees. We're not being paid by our college um Our job has I think and then we I think we've been doing it almost perfectly is to disclose what Pitcher has been like the investment that Pitcher's been having Um, what's wrong with it? How doesn't fit with our core values and that and raising the raising the question that we should be divesting and finding something That's morally correct to invest ourselves with Yeah, the disclose aspect of things has definitely been um Where uh, not only Pitcher, but most colleges have fallen short um Obviously back in 2012 the disclosure aspect Was really pushed by student activists And it's troubling that Many of these colleges and universities hide their investments to begin with and then what we found throughout the past year is that um, you know, there's a lot of red tape that they want to put up in front of Their investments and there's a reason for that and it's really because their investments aren't ethical and the investments don't um You know fall within The core values of the school particularly pertaining to Pitcher um But yeah, so that's also just very important to note that the the disclosure aspect of it amongst everything else is A lot of burden placed on the students where it shouldn't be Awesome. Thanks everyone for kind of offering your thoughts on that. So those were the questions that people have It looks like Let's see. We have some comments From community members too, you know, it's important to address that um The code pink on our divest from the war machine campaign. Um, I just wanted to Let people know that if you go to that website, I posted in the chat box. We'll also send it to you via email We have an entire um Place where you can search actually funds. Um It's called we have a sorry a fund searcher It's called weapons free funds manager and you can go and search and see if the things that you're invested in Um is invested in weapons stocks or weapons manufacturers So if you go to our website, um, you can check out and search the funds that you're invested in By name and see if they're invested in weapons manufacturers So there are actually tools out there that can help you as well See what these asset managers and financial firms are actually invested in so I just wanted to draw people's attention to that too And it's in the chat box. That's awesome. Um And then just one more thing that before we move on to next steps and um kind of wrap up I just wanted to say that one question that somebody had it seems pretty simple That they're asking about the research that students have done on this issue Is there a place where fellow students who are wanting to get involved can find that research? So where can people find that research that you all have been mentioning? Um, yeah, we created a sort of a q&a power point which we'll have like Um, what is black rock and then answered those questions for you? And so we've created that and we can um Send it to you guys and It can be sent to everybody that's been a part of this uh livestream um And we also have a reader no We also have a yeah, so there's also a reader that we can share with links and information Yeah Fantastic and um all of the specific asset managers that you all mentioned We can also send that out because somebody was asking about that in the q&a. So we can send that information as well Um, yeah, so I just wanted to thank everyone again for joining us on this webinar and To the students for your knowledge and all of your energy that you've put into this campaign It's been very inspiring to hear from you um, and also Thank you, berberta for joining us and i'm telling us a little bit more about how black rock is invested unfortunately In the companies that are driving climate change um You know one thing that I think is really important about this webinar is that students at hitzer college have shown that even though black rock is Um, the largest a financial asset manager in the world. You can actually take it on in your local communities Um, and this is really the ethos that um drives our entire divest from the war machine campaign at code pink So I quickly just wanted to share my screen and show some folks um Next steps and resources that code pink has in case anyone is interested in Also starting their own divest campaign on their campus or in their community. So let me go ahead and share that with folks So you can see All right, hopefully folks can see my screen um So, um, as I said, um Code pink has also a divest from the war machine campaign. You can find more information about this at code pink dot org slash divest um Our campaign is really focused as I said on making sure that people in their local communities can organize against the war machine and it's various All the various forms that it takes one of the things that we talk about is divesting from black rock. We're also um really interested in making sure that local communities can divest from weapons manufacturers in Um, their city, but so local cities invest in these but also university endowments invest in specifically weapons manufacturers So it's really important that people feel empowered to take on these weapons manufacturers and black rock in their local communities So I just wanted to share with everyone some next steps that people can take. Um in order to start doing that right now um So everyone here has heard about all of the awful things that black rock is invested in from private prison companies to fossil fuel companies and then of course importantly black rock is the largest Investor in weapons manufacturers in the world and we're telling larry think to divest from war um And so you can go to code pink dot org slash larry think to sign our petition asking larry think to divest from the war machine Um And then I also wanted to draw people's attention to the fact But again We need to start these kinds of campaigns to divest from war and divest from black rock in our local communities All across the country in order to build a ground tall of support So we wanted to invite folks to sign up to join our starter divest campaign by going to the link here It's just bit.ly slash divest sign up and uh code pink organizer will be in contact with you to talk more about starting your own campaign so Those are my next steps Um nancy. Did you want to close out? Okay Well, let's just close out with um See if anyone has any last words that they would like to share with the participants again I want to thank the participants for joining today and asking um The tough questions uh for our panelists But is there any final words um dan? We haven't heard anything from you You'd like to add would you like to add anything? I'll just say that how inspiring it is to have students Who are accepting the responsibility as citizens and the responsibility? of their education education gives us more power to produce a Humane future and if we don't take that With our education We are not accepting the responsibility of it and these students are the very exemplar the very highest model of doing that and There's nothing more satisfactory and rewarding for me As a faculty member who's taught at pit sir for over 30 years To have students embrace with radical love that responsibility of their education to produce a better world And you know for me I've recently become a grandfather And I want to thank them for my two beautiful little granddaughters and for all of the world's precious babies Um, we need the work these students are doing and I know several of my faculty college are listening And I want to urge you To join these students and support them and broaden the support from the faculty For this social justice movement hit sir's radical past Deserves the radical future these students are trying to make happen and I just want to thank them Amen. So on that we will go ahead and close Our webinar for today and we look forward to taking action With you all in the future. Thank you


welcome to this episode of In the Studio. I'm your host Madeline Hamaguchi. Today we're going to be talking about Yolo County child support services. Child support services are for parents whose relationship is not intact and need support co-parenting their children. So we have a short video to share with you first. Joining us today is Natalie Dillon, the director of Yolo County child support services. Welcome. Thank you. Nice to be here. It's nice to have you. Can you tell us a little bit about in general what your mission is and some of the services that you provide? Absolutely. So Yolo County child support services is a program to serve parents to support them in establishing paternity, establishing child support orders, collecting and distributing child support to families who are not intact. The video that we just saw really I think demonstrated that these this applies to many families today. This is not a program specifically for a specific population. It's for anyone who's no longer in a relationship together to parent those children. So we can help them with paternity establishments so determining who dad is if that's not already been established through a legal process as well as getting the court documents to really show and have an order for child support and then we'll collect it and distribute it and help those families through that process. So we were looking at this video that talked about just parents but you said that it also can extend to grandparents and any other guardians that still need the support of the biological parents. Absolutely. We see you know grandparents are raising children, aunts and uncles raising children and other caregivers and those folks are also eligible to receive child support from the biological parents even if they're not in the home and so we can help facilitate getting a child support order in those situations as well. So the goal really is to find the best outcomes for children, the best support, however they can get it and so one of those one of the problems at times is that not both parents are in Yolo County but they can still at least one of those parents or the caregivers can come to you even when they are in Yolo County. Really the the fundamental mission of our program is and I think that our values are built around the premise that every child deserves the support of both parents right so whether they live in Yolo County whether they the other parent is in another state in another country they still deserve children still deserve the support of both parents and and we're here to help them so if the child is residing here in Yolo County Yolo County child support services can support that guardian that caregiver that parent in getting the child support they need to help raise that child. Children there's so much research that really shows that children's outcomes are better if they have the support both the financial support but the emotional support of both parents and so we can facilitate working with other states or other countries the other parent regardless of where they are to help that child get that support and some of that research really shows that children have better academic outcomes they have better social outcomes there's less teen pregnancy less involvement in the criminal justice system if both parents are involved so I think our program is such an important program to help ensure children have positive outcomes as they grow up and have access to opportunities that they may not have if they just had the support of one parent. There's been a question about how someone who isn't a parent who isn't a guardian just yet but is looking at your services as a beneficial resource for the community what are some ways that they can support you. So one of the things that we're trying to do is just really educate the community at large about what our services are our services are free to low cost the most that they can cost is $25 a year so it's essentially free and many families who again their relationships not intact don't know that we exist and don't know that they can apply for our services to apply for our services is really easy we have a lot of different ways to do it but we have one that we have a quick app that is super simple it's on the Yolo County child support website and and so if folks are interested in applying for services they can go through that quick app they'll get a call from one of our staff right away they will help walk them through that process there are other ways that one can apply for services if you don't have access to a computer or or to a mobile device we can also mail you an application but really the quick app if at all you can have access to a phone or mobile device is an easy way to apply for services so to answer your question really what we're asking is to spread the word we all know people who are raising children as a single parent and and we're here to help and so the more that we can educate this community about the services that we provide I think the children do better mm-hmm sounds it sounds very accessible and and available as long as people know about it exactly exactly and I think one of the things that has changed as more people are having children not within marriage but out of wedlock that they're not going through a marriage dissolution they're not going through a divorce and so they don't have a legal court order that establishes child support so they don't even know that we exist because they haven't gone through the court process so what we're trying to do is really reach out directly to families and we're using that through social media we're now we have an ad campaign at the movie theaters in Yolo County and through venues like this to really show and demonstrate to people that we do we exist we're here to help we're free to low cost and that it's really easy to apply for services you were mentioning that you worked closely with a few other Yolo County agencies would you could you tell me about those again absolutely so one of the populations that we work with and it's not limited to this population but that's to folks who are receiving cow works or public assistance so as folks apply for cow works they're automatically referred directly to child support services so that we can work to find the other parent and help engage them in the child's life and support their child we also work with the children that are in foster care families so we don't work directly with the children but we'll work to collect and force child support against those parents who may no longer have their children because their children still need their support so if parental rights have not been terminated and the child's in foster care we'll work very closely with Yolo County Health and Human Services to support those families who are in poverty on cow works as well as in the foster care system well so the other thing that that is provided it's mentioned on your website but is a resource no matter you know if you call your offices or elsewhere or employer services and how can how do employers help child services so a child support services as I've mentioned we collect and distribute child support one of the the predominant ways we do that is engaging with employers so employers will remit child support payments as a result of an income withholding order or a wage garnishment so if a parent who owes support is working will submit an income withholding order directly to that employer the employer will mail or transmit that money directly to what's called the state disbursement unit which then collects all the child support money and then distributes it right to families so employers submit approximately 70% of all child support that's due in California or that's paid in California so employers are really important stakeholder and we have a lot of different paper processes that will set into them so on our website we have a page dedicated for employers that help them understand those forms those processes and to answer any questions they may have oh wow the so coming up very soon is the month of August and that happens to be child support awareness month now from what I understand it's not only yellow county that promotes this month but it's several other child support agencies throughout California yes so every county in the state of California has a child support agency there are a few counties that have combined to provide regional services but so in California and they're now 49 local child support agencies YOLO is one of them and the state of California has put together a campaign to really celebrate and honor the child support awareness month and to honor the parents that are supporting their children and helping them and then also to educate other families that that we exist the campaign that we're rolling out as a state this year is around that parents that children want parents who they can imitate and that every day we are role models for our children and that how we support our children is not just through financially but through that emotional support and social support that is so important in a parent's role so that's one of the things that we're really emphasizing in the month of August is the important role of parents in child support right although the it sounds like this is not just a month you know a one month per year effort this is something that we want to spread the word about your round absolutely absolutely and that's something here in YOLO County that we're really focused on is we want to ensure that all the citizens in YOLO County understand that we exist that we're here for them we are fully state and federal tax funded program and that's how and so the money that we collect gets distributed back to the families we're here to support their families and I think a piece of the child support awareness month is for families to understand that we're for both parents we're here to support both parents whether you have the custody of the child whether you have 50-50 custody or some other sort of shared arrangement we're here to support both parents you know one of the aspects of our services that many parents have commented on how helpful is is that we'll do all of the audits we'll do all of the financial accounting and child support can be complicated when you start adding in all of the other components and we can keep track of all of those payments provide audits upon request and so that the two parents don't have to necessarily work together on those things it happens naturally seamlessly behind the scenes we can direct deposit into bank accounts we can use income with holding orders so you don't have to write a check you don't have to deposit a check we can work with parents to make whatever is easiest for them wow it sounds amazingly accessible as long as people know about it exactly well so so again I want to mention we're out of time but I wanted to mention that that easy access support app where people can donate just apply just no donations no nation's at all but just apply just go to Yolo County child support org you can go there's a parents page you can apply directly use the quick app we'll have staff call you right away and we'll get that application processed sounds easy and it sounds like it's a service that's continued to be needed absolutely it's beautiful all right well thank you Natalie so much for joining us today this has been in the studio I am Madeline Homiguchi your host thank you so much for joining us we'll hope to see you next time


This is JSA TV Live, the newsroom for data center and telecom professionals. I'm Dean Perine of JSA and we are coming at you as the name might suggest live from beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida at Metro Connect 2023. And I am here with a relatively new executive, Mr. Dan Stahl. Dan is the President of Commercial and Carrier for Consolidated Communications. Dan, welcome to JSA TV. Thank you, Dean. Pleasure to be here.  So Dan, for our viewers that don't already know, why don't you tell them a little bit about Consolidated Communications? No, thank you, Dean. Consolidated Communications is a long-standing and fiber infrastructure, broadband and telecommunication service provider that operates nationwide and focuses in over 23 markets and leverages its vast fiber network, which exists over 60,000 or out miles of fiber or 16,000 buildings to service and servicing the consumer, the commercial and the whole cell space. Yeah, I think we'd be hard pressed to find somebody, especially somebody in the industry in the know that hasn't heard of Consolidated Communications. So some big things happening there at Consolidated, but also with- Very exciting. It really is, but even more exciting perhaps for you, why don't you tell our viewers a little bit about your recently having joined Consolidated Communications and what you do, what your role is and those kinds of things. No, I've joined the company with over 22 years of experience within this industry, working primarily with fiber infrastructure companies, had opportunities to run multiple functions over all those years, worked with great teams and people, lead P&Ls and really work with the business to identify how we can best capitalize and go to market to be able to service and cover all of our markets and provide great quality products and solutions for our customers. Yeah, I love it. And the folks that I have spoken to at Consolidated, we're really excited about your joining the team. So, and I can see why there's a nice history and a lot of experience. There's a lot of passion for the business here and a passion for supporting customers and differentiating, so it's very exciting. I love it, Dan. So speaking of that passion, let's talk a little bit about some fiber expansion passion that's going on over there at Consolidated. What can you tell us a little bit about that fiber expansion? Yeah, it's a great program. It's underway and it's set to over time be able to build over 1.6 million crossings or passings of addresses within our footprint. Is that all? That's over, yeah, 70% of the market. When you think about the size of the market, the density of this market, that's a great amount of customers to pass. It's the purpose of really delivering that quality connection for our customers to be able to service not only consumers, but move all the way up the stack from a broadband solution all the way up to 10 gig solutions and core backbone, as well as in between some of our markets, we've made some great upgrades in the network that can cover up to 400 gigs worth of transport connecting a lot of those key middle mile routes. Yeah, so they've got you, they've got a big fiber expansion. What does that tell us about the market? What does that tell us about where Consolidated is going and where kind of just the overall telecommunications broadband market is headed? Right, yeah, I mean, if you think about where things are going and what customers want, customers are really looking to cover off on two things. One, quality. So the quality of the service now is paramount. You're using your connection to be able to connect to the cloud. You're using it to connect to the internet and connect applications. So the success of a business and being able to like run and operate as well as customers, as well as wholesale providers that are using our network, it's really reliant and fully dependent on the quality of the service. The other thing that we continue to see over time is just in the quantity of bandwidth and the size of the pipe. In terms of it's about quality, it's about like throughput symmetrical service that's going to be reliable. So you can then stack those services and applications over the top that we have a very robust portfolio to be able to tackle what customers need and consumer, the commercial as well as the carrier space. Yeah, it doesn't feel like we're gonna be taking our foot off the gas in that regard anytime soon with the- 1.6 million passings. Yeah, and the proliferation of IoT devices and all of these things. One of the things that in my own home, I think on any given day I might have it, 30 to 50 IoT devices that are hitting the internet. And I think then like 10 years ago, 20 years ago, like how businesses we used to get excited about, I guess it was more like 25 years ago, about a T1 connection. And now there's like up to a gig coming to my home and things like that. So I feel like consolidated is really kind of on the forefront of keeping the foot on the gas there. Yeah, so it's a solve where it's a before is about how much can you, how much do you need? And now it's how much can you provide because the demand for it is almost insatiable. Yeah, no, absolutely. So I'm excited, I'm excited about what's going on over there at Consolidated. But why don't you tell our viewers what you are most excited about having just recently joined the team? Oh, I'm very excited about the culture, the longstanding history and the community element that the business has, the Consolidated has in all the markets that we support. We're local, we have great teams of people, we have great network that is in place today that we're gonna continue to grow and expand and we have a very robust product set. And you put that all together, those are the key ingredients to be able to differentiate, to have an advantage in this marketplace and to be able to ultimately grow the business. I love it, Dan, thanks for being with us and JSA TV today, we appreciate it. All right, thank you, Dean. You bet, and thank you viewers for watching JSA TV. We'll see you soon.


Welcome back to our lecture series Math 4220, Abstract Algebra for Students at Southern Utah University. As usual, I'm your professor today, Dr. Andrew Misseldine. This is the first video for lecture three in our series where we're going to talk about inverse functions, how they're related to bijective functions we defined in the previous lecture. We'll also talk about some permutations near the end of this lecture as well. Now, in terms of content, a lot of this is still coming from section 1.2 from Judson's Abstract Algebra textbook. There's a lot of stuff in here reviewing. If you do feel like we're going kind of fast, that is intentional because these ideas of functions and relations and sets are all things we've probably seen in a previous mathematics course prior to Abstract Algebra. We're really just trying to review these important principles as they're relevant for getting ready to study group theory and things like that. Last time we talked about function composition as an operation of functions. In this moment, I want to introduce the idea of the identity function. If we have a function f of x of the form where it maps a to a and it follows the formula f of a equals a, and this happens for all little a inside of capital A, this is referred to as the identity function on, the identity function on a. And typically speaking, we'll actually denote this function as, there's a lot of different ways people would do it. Some people might do like capital ID sub a.  It doesn't matter too much. So this is the identity function for basically two reasons. One, this is the function that just identifies the value plugged in. So whatever value you start with is what you end up with. This is the function that sends a to a, b to b, two to two, five to five, Pikachu to Pikachu, Volkswagen to Volkswagen. It just identifies what it sees. But also in terms of function composition, this is an important observation here to make. If you have a function, let's say f goes from a to b right here, then if you take f composed with the identity function on a, this will just equal f. Which also, this is the same thing as the identity function on b. So if you take f composed with the identity function on a, this will just equal f. Which also, this is the same thing as the identity function on b composed with f. Now the function on the left and the right are not necessarily the same thing because they set a and b is not necessarily the same. But the identity function has the property. Now when you compose it with a function, you'll get back that original function unaltered. So it acts like this identity element with respect to the binary operation of function composition. So with the identity function mentioned, which I should also mention, it's a bijective function. It's one to one and onto. That's very clear. I should also mention that with the identity function, we do stipulate that the set a in conversation is not empty set. It's not the empty set because if it's the empty set, if you take a map from the empty set to the empty set, I mean, although that's possible, you get the empty function, it wouldn't satisfy this relationship. And you have some problems when you start composing these things. So we do require that the domain of the identity function be not empty in this context. Alright, so with that in mind, we're now in a position where we can talk about what it means for a function to be invertible. So an invertible function will say we have f as a function from a to b here. We say that f is invertible or it has an inverse. If there exists a second function, which is called f inverse, it's going to be denoted as f as a superscript negative one. This superscript is not an exponent, like it has nothing to do with multiplication right here. It's just a superscript to represent the inverse function right here. Now, admittedly, we use the negative one here because when one is talking about genuine exponents, x to the negative one means take the reciprocal one over x, which is the multiplicative inverse. In this context, though, f inverse is referring to the composition inverse. This is called the inverse of f and it has the following property that if you compose f with f inverse, so you do this one, then that one, this will give you the identity on a, which is the domain of f. On the other hand, if you compose f inverse, then f, so you do the inverse function first, the composition will equal the identity of b. As we saw previously when we talked about operations of sets and such, the inverse function is going to be the inverse element with respect to function composition. It's the element which when you operate by it with the original element, you'll get the identity. So f composed with its inverse in either order will give you an identity element, an identity function, although which identity you get depends on which direction you go. Now because the domain of f is the codomain of f inverse and because the codomain of f is the domain of f inverse, those two things switch roles there, the output becomes the input and the input becomes the output. Because of that, it doesn't actually matter which order you go. f inverse of f and f of f inverse are both defined, although the order of operations will determine whether you get the identity on the domain or the codomain of f right there. So if an inverse function exists, it'll be unique. This comes from the fact that function composition is associative. And I'm going to delay that argument until we start talking about groups because in a group when you have an associative operation, if inverses exist, they're going to be unique. And so that's going to be the exact same proof one would use in that context. We'll just kind of delay that for right now. So what I want to do is just do a quick example of these invertible functions, functions with an inverse, right? These are some examples we saw in the previous lecture. f of x equals x cubed and g of x equals e to the x. I claim they're invertible if we choose the right domains. So for f of x, we're going to define this from a function from the real numbers to the real numbers. It's defined by the relationship that x maps to x cubed. It has an inverse function, which we're going to call f inverse. That'll go from the real numbers to the real numbers. So what we're going to do is we're going to switch the order here. But as it's the same two sets, you don't maybe notice it. And this will have the relationship that x maps to the cube root of x. In other words, f inverse of x is the cube root of x. Notice what happens when you compose these two functions. If we take f composed with f inverse of x, this would give us the cube root of x cubed. And as these are inverse operations, this gives you an x. Similarly, if you take f inverse of f of x here, this is going to give you the cube root of x cubed, which likewise simplifies to be x here. And notice that this x here is just the identity function. It's the identity function of x. So these functions are in fact inverses of each other. Notice when you compose the two functions, you end up with the identity. So this is the proper inverse function for x cubed. Now if you were to look at it for the exponential function, take g of x to be a map. It's going to go from the real numbers to the positive real numbers. It's given by the formula x will map to e to the x. And so it's candidate for its inverse, g inverse. This is going to be a function which maps from zero to infinity, just the positive reels to all the reels. And what we do is we map from x to the natural log of x. So I claim the natural log of x is the inverse function to the natural exponential. And we can see what happens when we compose these things. If you take g, this is the name of the function this time, g of g inverse of x. Well, we end up with e raised to the natural log of x power. Now be aware that the natural log of x by definition is the, it's the value, which if you raise e to that power, you get its, you get its operand. So the natural log of x is the power, is the number which if raised by e to that power, you're going to get an x. Well, we're now raising e to that power, so this is going to be x. They simplify. Another, another, the other way around g inverse of g here. In this situation, you're going to get the natural log of e to the x. And so with the natural log, you're asking yourself, what power of e gives you e to the x? Well, the x power will do that. So we see that these things are inverses of each other, but do pay attention to the domains, right? The domain of g is the co-domain of g inverse. And the co-domain of g is the domain of g inverse. These things will swap roles. Now in order to make g have an inverse function, we do have to restrict the domain. It's co-domain to be zero to infinity. The problem is if we were to, if we were to take the function g of x equals e to the x, but we allowed its domain to be all, its co-domain to be all real numbers. Then the inverse function, you'd have to switch that to be all real numbers. And unfortunately, the natural log is not defined for all real numbers. What is the natural log of negative one, for example? There's no real number we can assign to that. So do be aware that the existence of inverses depends on the domain and co-domain. And so we have to make sure we're explicit with our functions that we know exactly who's the domain of this function and who's the co-domain of this function as well. Because to kind of further this idea, let me give you another example. Let's take the function h to be from the real numbers to the real numbers. And we take x, we want to map this to x squared. In this situation, we're going to see that there is actually no inverse to this function. It's not invertible in its present format. And that's because there's a problem with the domain and co-domain. For example, because we might be tempted to say something like the following, right? The inverse of h, right? This should be, well, we'll worry about the domain and co-domain in a moment. This should be the square root function, right? Because isn't it true that if you take the square root of x and you square it, that you're going to get back in x? So that feels like that should be the inverse function h composed with h inverse of x. Squeeze in there. That seems right, but you're kind of, if you're not careful, we're ignoring the domains and co-domains. The problem with the natural log of x, not the natural log of the square root of x, is not defined for all real numbers. It's only going to be defined for non-negative real numbers. Again, otherwise we get in problems with imaginary numbers and such. It's only going to be defined from zero to infinity. And therefore, its inverse function, its co-domain, has to be the domain of its inverse. So it would have to be that zero to infinity is the co-domain. And then what numbers come out of this thing, right? Well, you know, we do have some issues. We could try to say like all real numbers and such, but not all real numbers are coming out of the square root. If we're going to be proper, we should mention, we should specify the domain and co-domain of the square root function are non-negatives and non-negatives. And therefore, we should then have h, its domain and co-domain have to agree with the domain and co-domain of the inverse function. I guess I should do that in red. We should switch that to zero and infinity. So by restricting the domain and co-domain, then the square function does have an inverse, in which case that's going to be the square root. That'll be the square root of x, which we see right here. So that way, when you take the square root of x squared, you get back an x. On the other hand, if you take, we did that one, h inverse of h of x, that's going to be the square root of x squared. Now, if one's careless with this, you might say this is x. But actually, if you take the square root of the x squared, that actually gives you the absolute value of x. Notice if you take two or negative two, if you square them, they're both four.  So the composition here is actually the absolute value of x. Now, wait a second, if I restricted my domains to just be non-negative numbers and my co-domains as well, then absolute value function and the identity function are the same on non-negative integers. And so in that situation, it's like, oh, we did it. If you restrict the domain, then we can get that these things are actually invertible. So the domain and co-domain matters a lot. On the real numbers, x squared is not invertible, but on non-negative real numbers, it's an invertible function and its inverse will be the square root of x.


from Korea to Germany, from Alaska to Puerto Rico. All over the world, the United States Army is on the alert to defend our country, you, the American people, against aggression. This is the big picture, an official television report to the nation from the United States Army. Now, to show you part of the big picture, here is Sergeant James Mansfield. The story we have to tell today is that of the last American frontier, Alaska. About twice the size of the state of Texas, it is a land in which military operations of almost any kind are extremely difficult. This is because of its barren tundras, towering peaks, and relentless winters, with temperatures dropping to 65 below. Alaska didn't come into the military picture until World War II. The vastly important fact about Alaska today is its key position in the defense of the North American continent. And now for the story of your army in Alaska. Americans are becoming more and more aware of our northern territory, Alaska. And for good reason, Alaska is the United States area closest to the polar regions and to Asiatic Russia. Europe, Asia, and North America close in toward the North Pole. The shortest routes between many of the nations of these areas cross the Arctic regions. Because of its strategic location, Alaska is of vital importance to the defense of the United States. With a total area of 586,000 miles, Alaska is more than twice the size of the vast state of Texas. As to weather, Alaska has plenty of that. But it is not as bad as generally supposed. Actually, the great northern land has every kind of climate except tropical. It may surprise you to know that a good part of Alaska is less cold in winter than such states as Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota. Only in the most northern area of the territory do you find the desolate, treeless plain known as the tundra. About three-fourths of the people living in Alaska are whites. Most of the remaining fourth are Eskimos, very loyal citizens. They did their part during the war enlisting in the armed forces and working on construction and supply jobs. Many of their young men leave their villages once or twice a year for duty as Eskimo scouts in the Alaska National Guard. For almost three quarters of a century, your army has taken part in the development of Alaska. Surveys and explorations by the army led to the establishment of telegraph and cable communications. Much of this early work provided the only information available about Alaska at the start of World War II. The invasion of the Aleutian Islands by Japanese forces brought world attention to the strategic north land. The campaign that followed resulted in the recapture of Attu and Kiska by American troops and the departure of foreign soldiers from Alaskan soil. But the Aleutian Islands are not part of the present polar concept. The new theory is that he who controls the mainland controls Alaska. The heart of the mainland is the Anchorage Fairbanks region where our three principal military bases are located. Your army's primary mission in the territory is ground and anti-aircraft defense. Because of its climate and terrain, this is a land in which military operations of almost any kind are extremely difficult. This makes thorough preparatory training in the states necessary for troops scheduled for duty in Alaska. These courses are held at Camp Carson, Colorado and other sites. Preparation for arctic training, they call it. As far as I'm concerned, it's a real thing. For the time you're done without ever setting foot outside the states, you feel like you've been through every frozen waste in Alaska. Bet your horn told this is a far cry from Texas where I'm from. You start off with classes in arctic tent pinching. Stick around, this is just the beginning. Then there's instruction in the care of weapons and equipment in extreme cold. After that, you're ready for a few rounds of over snow fighting. Your efficiency as a fighter is held down with the cold in your heavy clothing. But if the aggressor drops down on you on Alaska, he's up against the same thing. Getting tired? Well, you can't do that. This class is in arctic first aid. How to help the fellow next to you if he runs into trouble? Now it's time to learn something about weather and snow characteristics. Practical foresty, woodcraft, and other subjects that have to do with arctic survival and mobility. They're ski training for a pack of bolean coyotes that ain't never been on a pair of skis before. Whoever saw skis in Texas, and snowshoes. Well, that's nothing at all, so we all thought. But try a march of 15 miles in mountainous terrain at high elevation. That, friends, is what's called preparation for arctic training. I don't think I'll ever forget my first look at Alaska, coming up by ship from Seattle to the port of Whittier. At the docks, you see families reunited as dependents arrive to take up residence with soldier husbands and fathers. A modern train takes you from Whittier to Anchorage. Looking out the train window, you don't think of Alaska as an untrodden wilderness. It's more like riding through, well through some parts of the Midwest. Only here, your cow catcher is more apt to pick up a moose. The communication lines, with every pole perfectly in place along the track, make you feel you're not so far from home after all. Before long, you're at Ford Richardson, being interviewed by classification and assignment teams. They say, hope your tour of duty here will be a happy one. And you kind of feel it will be at that. Regardless of the resemblance, these three fellows are not single-core linemen. Although this brown bear will challenge any pole climber in the business. Now, without getting into any argument about how to get to the top and stay there, I'll state this simple fact. Every living thing in Alaska, human, animal or mineral, knows this sign. It's spread from the Arctic Ocean to the Yukon and then some. It's the job of the Alaska communication system to span the great distances of our northern outpost, to link cities together with military installations and provide contact with the outside world. This is a most important chain in the signal core global network. Back in 1900, signal core pioneers started the Washington, Alaska military cable and telegraph system. Womkats for short. Among the Womkats was Lieutenant Billy Mitchell of the signal core, later to be champion of air power, General Mitchell. He often described Alaska as the most strategic area on earth. Despite his foresight, perhaps even Billy Mitchell would be surprised today if he could see this tremendous system of communication landlines overcoming the difficulties of terrain and climate, traversing the long stretches of wilderness. Hard and headquarters of the Alaska communication system is in this federal office building at Seattle. Its message load tells its own story. But the traffic is close to a million messages a month. The engineering and construction division looks ahead, planning projects to meet the tests of tomorrow. Linking those in Alaska with loved ones far away, the ACS system ties into private lines to provide service that can be secured no other way. At headquarters, ACS makes it possible for representatives of the Army, Navy and Air Force working together to reach every part of the Alaskan command. To make this possible, signal corps crews fight rugged terrain and climate day by day in their year-round job of carrying the message through the Arctic. Snow-clad pines may be wonderful scenery, but only a headache to the isolated maintenance man for whom winter means even more vigilance and inspection. Repair jobs, call for technicians with the daring of an Arctic explorer and the skill of an acrobat. Oops, see what I mean? Even the sourdows, the few left of the old-time clondike days, take signal corps miracles in stride. They walk up to and ask for the outside world in a hurry. But one thing hasn't changed. There's nothing like gold to make your credit good. Atop Mount Washington, New Hampshire, the Army Quartermaster Corps field testing unit tries out the latest in cold weather clothing for possible use in Alaska. Field exercises, paralleling the rigors of Arctic warfare show what the well-dressed Alaskan infantryman may be wearing next winter. These tests ensure the fighting man, the best clothing and equipment to keep him warm and dry even when it's 10 below. At its winter field site, the Quartermaster test team lives under actual Arctic conditions and continues its experiment with a new zero-weather zootsuit, the cold bar. Made from a non-absorbent plastic material, this outfit is both water and windproof. The cold bar suit is worn next to the skin and under standard field clothing. All aboard for Operation Iceberg. To check buoyancy as well as body warmth, the suit gets the immersion test, even when loaded down with full pack, you can't sink. Looking like wet walruses, the men emerge, shedding the icy water. With the cold bar suit, body heat is retained even under extreme conditions. Cold weather consultants and research personnel examine the improved cold bar boot, already credited with virtually eliminating frostbite and trench foot among troops in Korea. Body temperature of soldier test subjects is checked before and after they wade through icy waters. Constant Quartermaster research and development are answering the challenge of the elements to make our troops the best equipped and best cloth fighting team today. Proper use of snowshoes is one of the first training subjects at the big Delta Arctic Center Alaska, where indoctrination courses and winter warfare are given. Soldiers are taught correct lashing, adjustment of the bindings, and how the snowshoe can be man's best friend in this part of the world. Ski drills come next. There's an excitement to putting on your first pair of skis with real snow under you. The instructor demonstrates how the glide is done, with the snow, not the legs bearing the weight of the ski. The emphasis here is on safety, for a broken arm or leg is the penalty an over-enthusiastic tire will might have to pay. The step turn is a simple but important maneuver for men traveling in column. The kick turn looks easy as teacher does it, but beware students. The herringbone is a fast but tiring method for climbing. The sidestep is less tiring, but he'll be a long time making the climb this way. The sidestep traverse is the perfect solution. Cross country ski marches familiarize the men with handling skis under various types of terrain conditions. Much of the field training at the Arctic Inductor Nation School is conducted during such cross country marches as these. The survival of the soldier in the Arctic depends greatly upon his over-snow mobility on either skis or snowshoes. A floundering man cannot reach the battle area with enough energy to fight. Trainees get to know the okiyo. This light plywood sled is patterned after those made by Alaskan Indians from hollowed logs. Packs are piled on to simulate equipment. The cross country trip is broken for the men to gain experience in handling these sleds which are used to haul supplies and the okiyo is pulled for the rest of the march. The mobility of ski mounted troops can be greatly increased by towing behind motorized vehicles, particularly the weasel. Speeds of up to 30 miles an hour can be maintained in this manner on a broken trail. Travel is slower, of course, on narrower paths through woods. The march comes to a halt at a bivouac area where the trainees will get a taste of overnight life in the Arctic open. Whenever possible, the bivouac area is located in timber. After supplies have arrived and have been checked and safely stored, then the next important step is to build campfires. The men are taught to lay a groundwork of green wood first to prevent the fire from sinking into the snow. A shelter must be built before dark. The lean-to is the standard timber shelter. It is quickly and easily erected. By now, the men have worked up their appetites. Cooking and eating under these conditions calls for improvising. Here, for example, food cans with wire handles are used to heat water. Gasoline stoves and cook sets, which had been left at the bivouac area, are soon firing up a man-sized meal. Where there is no timber for making a camp, the snow cave is a desirable shelter. You look for an area where the snow is deep and has lain long enough to be compact. This hillside is ideal for digging a cave. The completed cave provides protection from biting winds. Later in the Arctic training course, there is a demonstration of small arms fire. Here, the men see the penetration ability of small arms when fired into ice, then into hard-packed snow, and by contrast, into loose-packed snow. A light machine gun is tested for penetration into block ice. The results of tests such as these have helped to determine which types of weapons are most suitable for Arctic warfare. In a territory where supplies are not easily transported, light yet efficient weapons are most practical. Finally, the 57 recoilless rifle blasts away at the target. Its penetration is excellent, proving its value as a weapon in Alaska. Of all climatic conditions, cold is most unfriendly to man, and in time of war, the most difficult under which to function. When the right precautions are taken, however, the modern soldier can stay healthy and operate effectively in any kind of Arctic weather. Your army is constantly gaining new information from tests made in the field and in the medical laboratory. In the north, perspiration causes trouble. It may freeze to form whorefrost, an icy deposit inside clothing. This carries heat away from the body and reduces the insulating value of clothing. The soldier learns various ways to dry, damp clothing, even without a fire. To avoid overheating, he is taught to open his clothes and remove excess garments before long periods of hard work, and of course, to button up when he starts to cool off again. The danger of frostbite is a good reason for men operating in pairs in cold climates. Through the buddy system, early symptoms of frostbite can be detected and serious damage avoided. Keeping warm is the important thing. This means wearing extra pairs of wool socks. A second pair of lightweight trousers provides heat insulation. There must be protection for the upper part of the body and oversized shoes which hold trouser bottoms. Exposed parts must be protected too. The last garment to go on is the fur hooded parka, which covers most of the body. Now, with camouflaged rifles, these men are ready to go out and face the Alaskan cold. Another danger of the Arctic climate is cold exhaustion. Laboratory tests prove the best defense against cold fatigue and exhaustion is food. When it's chow time, a soldier needs no urging in any climate. The cold weather fighter, however, burns up body energy at a rapid rate. He needs a large food intake. In addition to well-balanced meals, which the body requires in any climate, the man in the Arctic needs large quantities of heat-producing foods, sugars, starches, and fats. Between meals, the Alaskan soldier keeps his engine running with candy as a quick source of heat for the body. With knowledge of how to protect himself, the Arctic soldier can not only survive in the coldest extreme, but he can keep healthy and strong and be an efficient member of his organization. A combined and joint Canadian and American military force was organized on a recent large-scale maneuver in Alaska. To start the exercise, Canadians quickly established a strong point covering the Alaska highway. The Royal Canadian Air Force struck at aggressor installations and movements along the highway. Back at headquarters, the Chief Empire was informed of each new development. This is the nerve center for all activities, with reports coming in from all forces engaged in the maneuver. A running score is kept on the operation's status boards. Weather is an important element in the conduct of a maneuver. Accurate forecasts are especially vital for the effective employment of aircraft. The first elements of the American Battalion Combat Team arrived to join the Canadian position. Other American troops followed. The two forces were then integrated to form an Allied force. Intensive patrolling began. Prisoners were brought in for interrogation. As much as possible was learned about the disposition of the aggressor forces. On the evening of D plus four, the combined assault on the aggressor position began with repeated strafing and dive bombing attacks. And at the same time, a concentrated artillery barrage from Allied gun positions. In the interests of safety, medical aid stations were set up at logical points. Certain casualties in off the road areas were designated by the umpires to be evacuated by the medics. Placed in special medical evacuation bags to keep them warm, they were loaded onto an occhio. Then towed over the snow to a waiting penguin or weasel. The weasel transported the supposedly wounded men to the road, where they could be transferred to an ambulance and finally carried back to an aid station. On the afternoon of D plus six, a major attack was launched across the ice. The Allied forces received much needed supplies and ammunition by air drop. A company of Canadian light infantry was parachuted onto the ice on the aggressor's other flank. Getting free of their harness as fast as possible, they dashed for cover and began to reform. In a short time, they were moving in on the aggressor. With the paratroopers attacking his flank and our main force converging on his front, the aggressor position was doomed. On the morning of D plus 10, the maneuver was officially completed. This exercise was not our first attempt to discover the secrets of fighting in the Arctic and certainly not our last. For the men who took part in the exercise in unreasoning fear of the North no longer exists. Your army continues to learn more and more about how to train men so they can live and fight in the subarctic. In Alaska, as everywhere, American soldiers will always be the world's best prepared fighting men. Alaska, the last American frontier, has entered upon a decisive period in its history. Because of its strategic position as the northernmost US possession and the region closest to Soviet Russia, Alaska can be marked as a vital area in our military future. Next week, the big picture will be presented again on this same station. Join us then. The big picture is a weekly television report to the nation on the activities of the army at home and overseas. Produced by the Signal Corps Pictorial Center. Presented by the US Army in cooperation with this station. You can be an important part of the big picture. You can proudly serve with the best equipped, the best trained, the best fighting team in the world today, the United States Army.