Rosa Clemente talks politics at the Student Union Theatre

After hosting the political hip-hop acts Dead Prez and Immortal Technique last year, UConn students had an opportunity to hear about the politics behind the music from a very reliable source.

Rosa Clemente, 37, a community organizer, hip-hop activist and founder of "Know Thyself Productions," spoke in the Student Union Theatre on Friday night to an enthusiastic crowd.

Raised in the South Bronx, Clemente is a graduate of SUNY-Albany and Cornell University.

The UConn ACLU and Lambda Upsilon Lambda, a Latin-American service fraternity founded last spring, co-sponsored the event.

On July 12, 2008, Clemente was nominated as the Green Party's vice-presidential candidate at their national convention in Chicago, becoming former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney's running mate on the first all-women-of-color ticket in United States history. Their progressive platform was defined by a number of contentious issues - universal healthcare, state-funded higher education and a Palestinian state, to name a few.

"We are living in a revolutionary time," Clemente said. "We are at a point where we have people that run for president, but they don't get to debate. They say that every vote counts, but you know it doesn't."

Clemente cited the existence of the electoral college and the established two-party monopoly as causes for concern. Using Ross Perot as an example, she contended that without a large source of independent wealth, it is impossible for third-party candidates to achieve a level of media exposure comparable to their well-funded mainstream peers.

Clemente stood at the podium for about two hours, speaking continuously without any notes. Her improvisational talent was evident as she seamlessly leapfrogged from topic to topic.

Inequality was a recurring theme, as Clemente spoke about the disenfranchisement of Puerto Rico, endemic American sexism and racism and the plight of poor migrant workers in acute detail.

"They say we live in a post-racial society," said Clemente. "Give me a break."

Her firmly worded sentences, a mix of proper speech and colloquialisms, clearly inspired her audience.

"After she was done, people wanted to ask her questions. Seeing that meant that the audience was actually paying attention," said Carlos Villa, a 3rd-semester computer science engineering major and CFO of Lambda Upsilon Lambda.

Villa thought the event was an excellent educational experience.

"I think the event went well, she talked about herself, she brought up topics that I didn't think she was going to talk about," Villa said. "People learned a lot. We wanted UConn students to be aware of all these political views."

Clemente's talk was at times overwhelming, but in the face of all this adversity she had some words of encouragement.

"The problems of the world are overwhelming and you can't solve everything," Clemente said. "It's important that students find something that they are passionate about, and run with that passion."