Academics | Olin Hall, Love Auditorium
Soldiers and Kings: Survival, Hope, and Empathy in the World of Human Smuggling Over the last decade, many places in the Global South that people once called home have grown inhospitable because of poverty, violence, corruption, and climate change. In response to the out-migration of millions of desperate people seeking refuge, countries like the United States and Mexico have attempted to harden their borders through various security measures. In response, migrants have turned to transnational gangs such as MS-13 who have become involved in the human smuggling industry. In 2015, Jason De Leon began a long-term ethnographic project focused on understanding the daily lives of Honduran smugglers who profit from transporting migrants across the length of Mexico. In this talk, De Leon presents stories from his recent book and examines the complicated relationship among transnational gangs, the human smuggling industry, and migrant desires for safety and well-being.This event is part of the Fall 2025 event series "Undocumented Migration into a Hostile America."Presented by the Peace & Conflict Studies Program and Longyear Museum of Anthropology. This event is generously supported by a Colgate Arts Council grant and co-sponsored by: ALANA Cultural Center, Africana and Latin American Studies Program, Department of Economics, Department of Educational Studies, Environmental Studies Program, Department of Geography, Department of History, Lampert Institute for Civic and Global Affairs (Schaehrer lecture), Museum Studies Program, Department of Political Science, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Academics | Olin Hall, Love Auditorium
The annual Peter C Schaehrer Memorial Lecture in Peace and Conflict Studies will feature Jason De León (UCLA) speaking about his book Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling, winner of the National Book Award for Nonfiction.About the Lecture Over the last decade, many places in the Global South that people once called home have grown inhospitable because of poverty, violence, corruption, and climate change. In response to the out-migration of millions of desperate people seeking refuge, countries like the United States and Mexico have attempted to harden their borders through various security measures. In response, migrants have turned to transnational gangs such as MS13 who have become involved in the human smuggling industry. In 2015, De León began a long-term ethnographic project focused on understanding the daily lives of Honduran smugglers who profit from transporting migrants across the length of Mexico. In this talk, De León will present stories from my recent book and examine the complicated relationship among transnational gangs, the human smuggling industry, and migrant desires for safety and well-being.

Academics | Dana Arts Center, Picker Art Gallery, 2nd Floor
Hundreds of bills targeting trans* individuals are currently making their way through state legislative bodies. These range from bathroom bans to expulsion from sports teams to the denial of healthcare. Amid the increasingly hostile rhetoric and attempts to erase trans* and queer lives, the artists in this exhibition use a variety of media to tell powerful counternarratives about perseverance, vulnerability, and kinship among trans* and queer communities.The exhibition opens with a new live performance connecting art and athletics by Nicki Duval (they/them) and Robbie Trocchia (he/they), featuring figure skater Milk. Films exploring themes of transgender identity, visibility, bodies, and politics by multidisciplinary artist Cassils (he/they) are joined by an installation of exquisite cut-paper portraits by Antonius-Tín Bui (they/them). The works by these leading contemporary artists are complemented by a selection from the Picker collection that underlines the past, present, and future existence and vitality of trans* and queer artists.

Academics | Little Hall, Clifford Gallery (101 Little Hall)
This exhibition expands on the forthcoming issue of the artist-run journal Effects, organized around the motif of the hole. Holes draw our attention to the periphery, the edges of the visible, bringing to the fore what typically disappears into the margin. Through rips and shadows, enclosures and erasures, the included artworks address transience, destructive violence, and lost histories, while also evoking the nascent formation of as-yet-unknown patterns for meeting the problems of living — with ourselves, with one another, and with absence.Featuring work by Noel Anderson, Milano Chow, Mary Helena Clark, Clementine Keith-Roach, Lakshmi Luthra, Eric N. Mack, Nour Mobarak & Jeffrey Stuker, Christopher Page, Paul Pfeiffer, Adam Putnam, Larissa Sansour & Søren Lind, Paul Sietsema, and Patricia TreibOpening reception Wednesday, Sept. 24, following the 4:30pm Art LectureCurated by Lakshmi Luthra, Associate Professor of Art and Film & Media StudiesLearn more about the exhibition*Please note: Weekend hours are dependent on the availability of student monitors. If driving a distance, please contact the department (315-228-7633), during regular working hours, to ensure the gallery will be open. The gallery is not open during university breaks and holidays.

Academics | Longyear Museum of Anthropology, Alumni Hall - 2nd Floor
Hostile Terrain 94 (HT94) is a participatory exhibition created by the Undocumented Migration Project, a non-profit organization that focuses on the social process of immigration and raises awareness through research, education, and outreach.The exhibit is composed of approximately 3,400 handwritten toe tags that represent migrants who have died trying to cross the Sonoran Desert from the mid-1990s to 2020. These tags are geolocated on a large wall map of the Arizona-Mexico border, showing the exact locations where human remains were found. The physical act of writing out the names and information for the dead invites participants to reflect, witness and stand in solidarity with those who have lost their lives in search of a better one. This exhibit is taking place at over 120 institutions across 6 continents with the intention to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis at America’s southern border and to engage with communities around the world in conversations about migration.The construction of HT94 is made possible by teams of volunteers from each hosting location, who participate in tag-filling workshops, where they write the details of the dead and then publicly place the tags on the map – in the exact location where each individual's remains were found. Some tags also contain QR codes that link to content related to migrant stories and visuals connected to immigration.

Academics | Longyear Museum of Anthropology, Alumni Hall - 2nd Floor
The Longyear Museum of Anthropology is hosting its opening reception for the Fall 2025 exhibition of Hostile Terrain 94, a participatory exhibition created by the Undocumented Migration Project (UMP), a non-profit organization that focuses on the social process of immigration and raises awareness through research, education, and outreach.The exhibit is composed of approximately 3,400 handwritten toe tags that represent migrants who have died trying to cross the Sonoran Desert from the mid-1990s to 2020. These tags are geolocated on a large wall map of the Arizona-Mexico border, showing the exact locations where human remains were found. The physical act of writing out the names and information for the dead invites participants to reflect, witness and stand in solidarity with those who have lost their lives in search of a better one. This exhibit is taking place at over 120 institutions across 6 continents with the intention to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis at America’s southern border and to engage with communities around the world in conversations about migration.Visitors can join UMP Director Jason De León in our first tag-filling workshop as we labor to collaboratively highlight the ongoing dangers faced at the southern border of the United States.Lunch will be provided.