A crowd of 600 flooded the HUB Alumni Hall twice this weekend. There were dreadlocks, pink mohawks, short hair, long hair and gray hair. There were babies, young children, college students and older adults.

The second annual Solidarity Conference was in full swing.

Penn State students, members of the local community and others who traveled to State College for the conference descended upon central campus this weekend to discuss ways to solve the social problems they perceive.

The conference began Friday afternoon with films, a vegan dinner, lectures, discussions and workshops. People could choose to attend any of multiple workshops offered during each conference time slot.

At 1 p.m. Sunday, a line of people crowded the lobby outside of Alumni Hall, waiting for the doors to open for an afternoon with Jello Biafra, the second of the conference's two keynote speakers. Half an hour later, Biafra's voice could be heard before he was seen.

"We interrupt this program for a special bulletin," he said. "America is now under martial law."

The crowd erupted in laughter as Biafra took the stage, hiding behind a stand-up Joe Paterno, pretending that Paterno himself was speaking.

"National security is more important than individual rights," he said, continuing his introductory piece, reminiscent of George Orwell's book, 1984. "At last, everything is done for you."

Revealing himself from behind the cardboard Paterno, Biafra questioned how the Penn State community could idolize a football coach, calling him a "tiki-god Elvis figure."

"Time to do a Taliban here," he said, and ripped off the figure's cardboard head.

Biafra then began his talk, which lasted two and a half hours and covered a wide variety of topics. He first expressed his feelings on the conference itself.

"Unity to me implies that everybody's gotta be the same," he said. "But solidarity means that diverse people can come together. . .for a common purpose."

He discussed international issues like World Bank, national issues like the November election, and personal issues like his legal troubles with his former band, the Dead Kennedys.

Biafra had his own monikers for many of the groups he discussed, including "the World Bunk," "International Monetary Fraud," and "King George II" for our current President.

Howard Zinn, the other keynote speaker of the weekend, addressed a crowd on Saturday afternoon. His talk linked solidarity to democracy based on history, his area of expertise. Zinn recalled the elementary school diagram of American government, complete with checks and balances.

He explained that as he gained experiences in life, he learned that those checks and balances did not always mean things would be fair.

"Working people had to bring democracy alive and still have to, because they're not getting it from the three branches of government," he said.

He said that the setup of the American government perpetuates class struggle, citing examples of rebellion throughout the national history.

Zinn also spoke on his time as a civil rights activist, citing Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, stressing the word "action" in King's call for "nonviolent direct action."

"The power of consumers, the power of working people is enormous once that solidarity is created," he said.

Biafra also urged the crowd to act, specifically mentioning the protests at the World Bank meeting in Seattle and linking the actions to protests of the Vietnam war. "Corporate power is the new Vietnam-sized issue," he said.

He said that the next World Bank meeting is scheduled to occur in Qatar in order to avoid protesters. "They have to go all the way to Qatar to get away from us," he said.

On the topic of elections, Biafra, who said he aligns himself with the Green party, spoke for voting, even if it seems that a national campaign is futile. He said that local offices are good to start grassroots change within communities.

"If nobody cool is running, you can always run yourself," he said. "You'll learn a lot and meet some very interesting people."

Both Zinn and Biafra encouraged their audiences to look to Internet sites and underground and alternative publications for information on social activist movements. Biafra warned about double-checking Web postings, using the example of rumors of his death that circled the Internet.

"I looked in the shower and I couldn't find the blood or the bullet holes," he said. "But the 'net said I was dead."

Zinn and Biafra gave messages to keep working on social activism and not lose vigor for fighting for beliefs.

"Remember where you came from. Remember what brought you here to this conference and this room in the first place," Biafra said. "I hope you don't throw it out the window five or 10 years from now."