
University of Colorado Boulder kicks off 77th annual Conference on World Affairs
On Monday night, that included Gov. Jared Polis and keynote speaker Cynthia Erivo, which drew lines around the block. Some in line said they had waited for up to 5 hours for Erivo's speech.
"She's coming here, and she's speaking to us, for students like us," sophomore Maddi Spicer said. "The political climate right now is very I think it's going to make for some very interesting conversation."
That conversation– led by actress, singer, and songwriter Erivo. Although she is widely known for her role as Elphaba in Wicked, she was at the conference to highlight her work in social activism.
"She's performed as Harriet Tubman and Aretha Franklin and really used her art to tell these powerful stories of resilience and change. And we thought just her perspective would be so unique," said Vara Roem, the student program chair for the conference.
For the last year, Reom worked with a team to select dozens of those perspectives for their three-day conference.
"I think now more than ever, events like this are so important," Roem said, "And a lot of students come away from it, learning something new, or thinking about things differently."
This is the 77th year of the conference, where the school expects thousands to attend not only Erivo's keynote but also dozens of other sessions through Thursday.
"It really feels like the tradition is alive and well, and we're excited to get it started," John Leslie Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications said, "There's panels about relationships in AI, there's panels about cyber security and the future of democracy and a lot of other stuff in between."
As we see big changes coming from the white house and the world, conference organizers hope the events can go beyond the headlines.
"A program that brings people from different backgrounds, different perspectives and different opinions together to talk about the issues of the world right now, it seems like that's something we could all practice into a little bit more," Leslie said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Forbes
13 hours ago
- Forbes
‘Jesus Christ Superstar' Soars On Streaming
In between her two Wicked films, Cynthia Erivo has not been taking time off. Just a few months ago, she released her new album I Forgive You, and more recently, she starred in a three-day revival of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. Held at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA, the production was heralded as a spectacular retelling of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-penned show. Even though the number of performances and even the thousands of people who witnessed the performances of fellow stars like Adam Lambert and John Stamos (who subbed in for Josh Gad for one night) was extremely limited, the event has led to massive upticks in consumption of the album – all of them, actually. Jesus Christ Superstar Sees a 288% Streaming Spike Between August 1 and 4, the original 1970 concept album, which started it all for Jesus Christ Superstar, experienced a 288% increase in streams in the United States. It racked up 430,000 plays, according to Billboard. That sum is compared to the weekend before the show lit up the famed venue – July 25-28. 1996 London Cast Recording Leads with 583% Jump The 1996 London cast recording enjoyed the most dramatic jump of all versions of Jesus Christ Superstar. Streams of that set rose 583% during the same period, as it collected more than 235,000 plays in only a few days. NBC Live Musical Album NBC adapted Jesus Christ Superstar a few years back as part of its series of live musicals, and the album, which features contributions from stars like Sara Bareilles and John Legend, also grew, thanks to the Hollywood Bowl production. From August 1 to 4, that project saw its tracks played 92,000 times – up 192% weekend-over-weekend. 1973 Film Soundtrack Streams Climb In 1973, a movie was made of Jesus Christ Superstar, and, unsurprisingly, many fans of the musical, as well as those who simply wanted to be a part of the action, turned to the soundtrack on streaming sites. That album's stream count rose to 155,000, up 151% from one weekend to the next. Jesus Christ Superstar Throughout the Decades The original Jesus Christ Superstar concept album became a shocking breakout success in the early '70s. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, emerging as a relatively uncommon success from the musical theater world – even if the title hadn't yet made it to the big stage on either side of the Atlantic. Several other recordings have also landed on the same tally throughout the years, but none have come close to matching the power of the first.


Politico
13 hours ago
- Politico
Why Colorado is rethinking its AI law
AROUND THE NATION Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed first-in-the-nation legislation to regulate artificial intelligence last year. Now the Democrat is calling state lawmakers back to Denver next week to ask them to delay for a year the law's implementation, currently scheduled for February. The big issue: the cost of implementation. But Polis is also having second thoughts about states independently regulating AI. Earlier this year, he backed a plan by Republican lawmakers in Washington to place a moratorium on new state AI laws. The Colorado legislation will bolster consumer protections when AI is used to make key health care-related decisions, and require developers and deployers to address algorithmic bias based on reproductive health, genetic information and other data. Developers must also make disclosures about AI systems that make high-risk decisions. Why it matters: The political climate for AI regulations has significantly changed from May 2024, when Polis first signed the law, our Alfred Ng reports. The Trump administration's AI Action Plan withholds federal funding from states with 'burdensome regulations,' even though Republicans ultimately decided not to include a moratorium on state AI laws in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act they passed last month. It's unlikely the Colorado law will dramatically change during the legislature's special session, but it's expected to spark another round of lobbying by tech groups that oppose the law. 'With Colorado now facing a billion-dollar budget shortfall, this is a moment when lawmakers should be inviting innovation, not driving it away from the state,' Kouri Marshall, director of state government relations for the tech industry group Chamber of Progress, said in a statement. The backstory: In the lead-up to Polis' decision, tech industry advocates pleaded with him to veto the measure. They argued the law would launch a patchwork of state rules that would make compliance difficult and that Congress is better suited to regulate. They succeeded in convincing Connecticut's Democratic governor, Ned Lamont, to oppose a similar bill his legislature had passed. At the same time, consumer advocates are concerned that AI systems could harm patients if bias is entrenched in care or if the tools make diagnostic mistakes. They have lately urged lawmakers to do more. WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. Lithium depletion could play a role in causing Alzheimer's disease, a new study in the journal Nature says, raising hope that restoring it to the brain could stave off memory loss. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Carmen Paun at cpaun@ Ruth Reader at rreader@ or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@ Want to share a tip securely? Message us on Signal: CarmenP.82, RuthReader.02 or ErinSchumaker.01. AROUND THE AGENCIES The National Institutes of Health official who oversaw grant review and the groups who evaluate NIH grant applications, is leaving the agency at the end of the month. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya said Noni Byrnes, who directs the agency's Center for Scientific Review, is retiring from federal service after nearly 25 years at the agency. Byrnes had served as the center's director since 2019. During her time there, Byrnes, an expert in analytical chemistry, implemented frameworks and systems for evaluating quality, integrity and fairness in grant review. 'Most recently, she oversaw the HHS and NIH effort to centralize the peer review of applications and proposals for all the agency's grants, cooperative agreements, and research and development contracts,' Bhattacharya's announcement said. Byrnes' other efforts included expanding the advisory councils and pushing to diversify the pool of peer reviewers and study sections to include researchers of different races, genders, scientific backgrounds and experience. 'You don't want bureaucrats or government officials making these decisions,' Byrnes told Chemical and Engineering News in 2019, referring to the grant review process. Why it matters: The NIH's peer review process is in the midst of an overhaul. In March, the NIH said it would centralize what had previously been handled by subject matter experts at individual institutes and centers. This spring, the NIH moved to remove swaths of outside experts from advisory boards that evaluate agency research. And last week, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that increases the administration's control over research grants that the government funds. According to the order, agencies shouldn't fund research that uses race as selection criteria, denies that sex is binary or suggests that sex can be changed, encourages or subsidizes illegal immigration, compromises public safety or promotes anti-American values. The order tasks agency officials with defining those terms. What's next: The Center for Scientific Review's deputy director, Bruce Reed, will serve as the center's acting director.


CNN
a day ago
- CNN
Colorado Governor Polis slams Trump's tariffs: ‘There's certainly no upside'
Democratic Governor Jared Polis discusses Trump's tariffs with CNN's Kasie Hunt and weighs in on whether Kamala Harris should run for President again in 2028.