Are you passionate about student activism?
Then join us as we take over The Mansion, one of the coolest historical landmarks on your door step. Mix with UT Austin’s impact driven student crowd, enjoy a few mocktails, and then settle in for a hard hitting, heart moving, student speaker series.
UT student leaders are representing their orgs, with the aim of talking to a larger crowd about the causes that matter to them. From #mentalhealth to #savetheplanet, you'll learn more about a bunch of important issues, and hear how students are taking action.
This event is a collab between Stashrun and the students of UT in the lead-up to SXSW (and just before Spring Break). For those who are new here, Stashrun is a student led tech startup. We're building a Gen Z community for activism, where giving is free!! In celebration of launching the newest feature on our BETA app, 'Conversations', we're supporting impact focused conversations on campus.
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–Skip to the article at the end of this page if you want to dig into details.
Guest Speaker in addition to UT students
Michael Harris AKA Big Mike
As a BLM advocate, LGBTQIA+ ally, and champion for mental health, Mike has generated more than 500 million views in one year, and has a following of nearly 4 million people. ‘Big Mike’, as we know him from TikTok, is a 23 year old impact influencer who uses his platform to bring people together around the causes he's passionate about (alongside his own take on a bunch of hugely entertaining TikTok trends). With a college background in Theatre and Music, Mike’s dream is to one day own his own theater, bringing diverse and entertaining shows into low-income areas. As our special guest speaker, Mike will be flying in from Virginia to present in support of the BLM cause, and use Stashrun to fundraise for The Equal Justice Initiative- a nonprofit committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.
Hear what Mike has to say... join the conversation!
“It’s important to raise your voice in things you feel passionate about and things you know about.”
- Zendaya
What's the vibe of this event?
After sitting through a day of lectures, no one needs another one. What we need is something that hits differently (besides the mocktails). That's why we're using a PechaKucha format. Each student speaker will show 20 slides, and must speak for exactly 20 seconds per slide. That means getting straight to the point. They'll be speaking about some serious causes, so expect emotional storytelling, dry humor, some potentially terrifying graphs (due to the realizations they'll inspire), with a few culturally relevant memes thrown in (to really get their point across). It'll be fast, and it'll be fun.
You'll be fundraising without spending a cent
Every student speaker has nominated a nonprofit to fundraise for, to take action on their cause. Don't worry, you won't have to fund the donations– that's the magic of Stashrun. At the end of each presentation, you can scan a QR code to generate an instant donation, sponsored by a brand who shares your values. Our algorithm matches you with a sponsor in the most surprising way, and will only take 15 sec of your time. There are no obligations, but if you're seriously invested in the cause, we're giving you an easy way to take immediate action, for free!!
Other important stuff you should know
Stashrun empowers students to participate in activism. We are not endorsing causes directly. We are providing a platform where cause focused conversations can be amplified. All speakers and attendees are required to follow Stashrun's Community Guidelines, which help keep our community safe. Additionally, this is a no alcohol event, and restricted to currently enrolled UT Austin students who hold valid tickets for the event. Please respect The Mansion. There will be security on site.
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Oh, and there'll be gift bags 😉
"Our heads are round so that thought can change direction."
- Allen Ginsberg
An article on our (Stashrun's) aspirations, motivations, and preoccupations–
In case you want to know more and are ok with long form content...
College campuses have long been at the center of political and social debates. Universities exist to provide students with a space to pursue knowledge and explore new perspectives. But engaging in activism, even in the form of spoken word activism, has not always been embraced on campus. Anti-war and civil rights demonstrations from the 60s resulted in violence against students, anti-free speech policies and student expulsion ('political' speeches (as though all speeches aren't inherently political) were literally banned on many campuses).
In the face of this adversity, activists like Allen Ginsberg led anti-establishment poetry and flower power movements, which embraced theatrics as a key tool for delivering powerful messages. When biker gangs and violent ‘patriots’ showed up to clash with student protestors, they were met with flowers, songs, balloon animals, and emotional speeches.
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Today student activism is pouring into social media, with Gen Z leading digital activism online. But social platforms weren’t built for impact. Their algorithms reward toxic consumerism, filters and fakeness. We’ve even had to develop a kind of secret code to talk about serious topics– discussions about gender equality suddenly include 'seggs' and 'corn', for example. Most recently both universities and states are making moves to try and ban certain platforms all together, despite most of Gen Z using them as their primary source of news and self expression.
In the absence of controlling the world's wealthiest institutions, or holding high ranking leadership positions (for now), and with influence across social networks (physical and digital) emerging as Gen Z's biggest super power, it's more important than ever that we protect and participate in grass-roots activism that amplifies the voices of young people.
So we're putting out a call to impact focused students to join the conversation. We're not only talking to students who chain themselves to trees or block access to the Dean's office (although we know some of you like to do that too), we're also speaking to the students who are down to rant about inequality in their stories, who share fundraisers for their birthdays (even though their friends are all 'broke' college students), who drop 🤡s in the comments, who follow pages like @impact, who know what it feels like to have experienced climate anxiety, or who are just so emotionally bankrupt by social media that they're desperate to feel something meaningful. If that's you, it's time to show up and speak up.
Join the conversation in person, at The Mansion, on March 07, 2023, and then take it online with Stashrun, the only community for activism where giving is free. Get exclusive access to our BETA app to turn your cause focused conversations into currency. That's right... we're converting your digital influence into REAL $$$ for your cause– money you can use to fund nonprofits who are taking action, on the ground. And it won't cost you a cent (another reminder, because we know that's the most astounding part)! Stashrun gives students the tools they need to create tangible, real-world change in the moment. So see you there. 👋
