It's easy to focus on getting new stuff for the new year. But instead of getting lost in the jungle of the new car and new clothes, attend a meeting of the Board of State History, where officials will discuss placing seven Utah sites on the National Register of Historical Places. Follow that with a silent and nonviolent demonstration against racial violence and injustice at the University of Utah. If this gets you salivating for change, attend a free four-hour boot camp with legislators and lobbyists to learn about the legislative process.
Protest Racial Violence
Jan. 15 & Jan. 20
March in solidarity with University of Utah students and faculty against racial violence and injustice. The demonstration is silent and nonviolent, so don't attend if you want to throw a brick through the library window. The march starts at the College of Social Work, winds past the student union building, continues on to the library plaza and circles back to the College of Social Work. The marches on Jan. 15 and 20 are the third and fourth in a four-part protest.
University of Utah College of Social Work, 395 S. 1500 East, Jan. 15 and 20, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Utah's Big History in One Meeting
Thursday, Jan. 15
The Board of State History meets only every few months, so take advantage of checking out what they do before the snow melts. Even if you don't have a horse in the race, it should be interesting to listen to the board chatter about whether or not the Western Macaroni Manufacturing Company Factory—built in 1900 at 244 S. 500 West in Salt Lake City—should be placed on the National Register of Historical Places. Six other sites around the state will also be discussed.
Rio Grande Depot Board Room, 300 S. Rio Grande St., Jan. 15, 12:15 p.m., Heritage.Utah.gov/history
Legislative Boot Camp
Saturday, Jan. 17
At this four-hour legislative boot camp hosted by the Libertas Institute, lobbyists, legislators and activists will give regular citizens a tutorial on how the legislative process works. If learning about how bills make their way into legislators' brains, who writes them, how you can change them and how you can make an impact during the Legislature's breakneck 45-day session isn't enough, then rest assured that lunch is provided. The boot camp is free, but all attendees are required to RSVP.
Utah Capitol, 350 N. State, Room 445, Jan. 17, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., visit http://citywk.ly/1svwEL9 to RSVP
