Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/436829
STUDENT CTA "The Relevance of One" was the theme of the Student CTA Fall Leadership Conference. A hot topic was NEA's Degrees Not Debt campaign; students voiced their concern that oceans of debt will sweep many young people like themselves out of the teaching profession. The accumulated debt of the students attending was nearly $858,000. They created "graffiti walls" about the impact of unreasonable debt on students. To see what CTA is doing, go to cta.org/degreesnotdebt. ETHNIC ISSUES CONFERENCE GLBT ISSUES CONFERENCE In addition to learning about unconscious bias, bullying, and legal issues faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students and educators, members heard from traveling artist and photog- rapher i0 Tillett Wright, here giving resources and suggestions to Kimi Rodriguez-McSwain, South- western College Education Association. Wright dis- cussed the Self Evident Truths project, which will feature photos of 10,000 people in the USA who identify as anything other than 100 percent straight. The purpose, she said, is to support, celebrate and learn about differences to make a world where all kids can be safe. She has taken 8,468 photos in 77 cites. In 2016, the 10,000 portraits will be spread on the lawn in front of the Washington Monument. For more, go to selfevidentproject.com. KIBY McDANIEL, El Monte Teachers Association "It is good to learn from other teachers here about how cultural issues affect my students. I'm bringing back information to my colleagues about how to involve the community to make our schools even more successful." MARIO MORENO, San Joaquin Delta College Teachers Association "This is my second CTA conference. My interest is to understand my students better and become a better teacher. I am also interested in becoming more active in CTA." SAYURI SAKAMOTO, Oakland Education Association "I think the networking is the most valu- able thing. I've done some community organizing on education and youth issues but haven't delved into the union world. There's a lot of overlap. I would like to be more involved in the union and help bridge that gap." CTA & You 55 V O L U M E 1 9 I S S U E 5