• CNN & The New York Times: Stop the journalistic malpractice NOW!
    CNN and The New York Times are two major news outlets who largely control narratives and public perceptions on any given topic. We deserve fair and honest coverage. CNN and The New York Times must stop the journalistic malpractice NOW. Recently, a freelance Israeli journalist for The New York Times was exposed for liking a social media post that called for Israel to turn the Gaza Strip “into a slaughterhouse” and other horrific content. This exposes a clear bias in traditional news media, and they must do better. And The New York Times' language to describe the killing of Israeli people versus Palestinian people has been damningly passive. The words "slaughter," "horrific," and "massacre" have been used in relation to Israelis 86 times but only three times for Palestinians. And when discussing the prisoner exchanges, The New York Times referred to “Israeli women and children” being exchanged for “Palestinian women and minors.” Since October 7, news outlets have been partially responsible for messaging to the American people about what's happening, and some of the facts are just not adding up. CNN agreed to terms that condition that in order to enter Gaza, they'd have to submit all materials and footage to the Israeli military for review prior to publication, giving the Israeli military the opportunity to suppress content and materials that might showcase Palestinian suffering. CNN also hired a former Israeli military soldier, who was a member of the IDF’s Spokesperson Unit which is responsible for public relations, to report on CNN’s war coverage. There are record reports of increased acts of hate against Muslim, Arab, and Jewish communities throughout the country. Outlets’ choice to publish articles that inflame tensions and increase hatred against communities already experiencing a record number of hateful threats is irresponsible and dangerous. The media plays a huge role in public perception and opinion. Media outlets have a responsibility to publish factual articles and to act with journalistic integrity that promotes the peace and safety of all peoples. CNN and The New York Times have staff that are sounding the alarm about journalistic malpractice. We must come together in solidarity to hold CNN and The New York Times accountable and to demand that they report fairly and honestly. Will you take action now and sign the petition?
    686 of 800 Signatures
  • Keep Mr Cody as our High School Math Teacher!!!!
    Our kids deserve the best education available to them and Mr. Cody meets that standard. A mistake made on the weekend outside of school should not dictate whether or not he is capable or suitable for his job. Mr. Cody is one of our best teachers in the school system. My daughter has always struggled in Math she just doesn’t get it, since she has moved up into high school and has had Mr. Cody not only have her grades skyrocketed for Math but her state test scores in Math have skyrocketed. Her UNDERSTANDING of the subject has went through the roof. She has went from testing below the state average to ABOVE it. And it is solely because of the methods and extra care that Mr. Cody takes with his students and her story is not the only one like it. Mr. Cody spends his planning periods and lunch hours whenever necessary helping students one on one. If they are behind he helps them catch up, if they just aren’t getting it he helps them. And he takes the time for those students out of his personal time. Instead of using his planning period he helps them and then goes home and does his planning. Instead of getting his personal time for lunch he helps them. He goes above and beyond his job. And it shows in our kids test scores. Not only does he do those things but he also makes your children comfortable in asking for the help. Which is something that can’t be said for most teachers. A lot of time the attitude our children have is that it’s not worth asking, because they won’t listen, or they’ll say no. Our kids not only get the help they need but feel safe and optimistic in asking for it. These kids love him not because he’s cool or he lets them mess around but because he legitimately helps them. He has their respect. We are the generation that voted for medical marijuanas legal status. So not only should we help keep a teacher that we KNOW is massively beneficial to our children’s education but we should fight for our medical legalization that we worked for. We should fight against the school for trying to make something that we pushed and voted for still a negatively looked upon thing, like it’s still makes you a pariah to have a medical card even one that recently expired. We need them to know that this is not a firable offense. Then, there are other teachers in the school who have not gotten marijuana possession charges on there own time that deserve to be forcefully resigned. That not everything should be about the way something looks. It should be about what’s best for our kids. What THEY deserve. If they wanna get rid of teachers, great! But let’s get rid of the ones that don’t care. That say things like… “well all my kids in this class are making C’s so it’s fine”. No it’s not fine, your not doing your job!!! That no matter how much effort your child puts into trying to catch up or understand something they get met with a do it yourself attitude. Who no matter how little they do they put their own failures onto your kids. The Lexington school system has done a lot of shady stuff to help themselves “save face” and we as parents HAVE to fight for the best interest of our kids. The school system needs to remember that they are at the bottom line emoloyed by the parents of this state. They are employed by our tax dollars and when they make poor decisions they have someone to answer to. That’s you. This community needs to come together on soooo many issues. And I feel strongly for our kids it needs to start here. Help us keep a valuable teacher, if we don’t, we senselessly lose him to another school. For what? Ask yourself that.
    140 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Jessica Roberts
  • Rep. David Trone says "Who cares about that little cemetery?" We Do and We Vote!
    Why was Congressman Trone so dismissive, insulting and ignorant in his interaction with Dr. Marsha Adebayo at a recent MLK event. She asked to talk to him about the Bethesda Road Moses African Cemetery and efforts to reclaim the land to memorialize the lives of enslaved and post-emancipated African Community. Instead of engaging, he dismissed her with a wave of his hand and a turn of his back saying" who cares about that little cemetery?" I care about that "little Cemetery," and I don't care to have a person with David Trone's historical ignorance and dismissiveness towards African American struggles influencing our community. The people in the "little cemetery were human beings and they deserve respect. Most of those buried in the "little" cemetery were children who were kidnapped, raped, murdered and worked to death in Bethesda, Maryland. Why are we still debating whether Black Lives Matter? We need the community to speak out against Congressman Trone's statement. David Mott - retired union organizer, Poor People's Campaign, Montgomery County Contact: bethesdaafricancemeterycoalition.net
    408 of 500 Signatures
    Created by Marsha Adebayo
  • PS 287 Speed Bumps
    We need to ensure safety of all community members. We also want to prevent another tragedy involving small children. We are to protect them and advocate for the little voices who need to be heard.
    12 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Christine George
  • MT Police & Courts need to know the laws as well
    The only way a change can happen is if we speak up and hold them accountable for what they continue to get away with.. It's our turn to make the change for our future as well as our children's future 🙏
    78 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Strausie Hart
  • Lower Student Debt Burden
    Let’s think of some things that make a person “stable” early on. - Owning a home out of college - Having the opportunity to save for ones future - Partnership/Family Can a person today with the average income buy a house? The answer is no. Now add student debts with the average interest rates of 3.73%-6.28% hovering over your head right out of college. It’s near impossible to be a home owner, save for retirement, and pay off student loans even with the Income Based Repayment plan put in place for some of us. Having close to zero interest rates would tremendously help individuals to pay off loans and figure out their early years while saving for retirement and future plans.
    42 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Abigail Evans
  • Tickets should NOT be a requirement for Austin Peay State University Graduation
    We have worked really hard to receive these degrees. Why should it be limited to what family members and friends that can see us walk the stage? when they were the ones to help us get through these college years. Without our village, would we be here?
    12 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Anonymous Student
  • TRS Dump Express Scripts
    Join together to tell TRS we need better pharmacy services.
    343 of 400 Signatures
    Created by B Saccardo
  • Petition to Protect Benefits for INIC Teachers
    Given the increase of tuition for the 2023-24 school year for all students at INIC, it is important that our dollars are spent on increasing the value of our children’s education and improving the quality of life of our caretakers and educators. The undersigned support the above requests.
    207 of 300 Signatures
    Created by INIC Parents
  • Breaking Chains: Reforming Juvenile Incarceration
    Investing in education and mentorship is a proven strategy to address the root causes of juvenile delinquency, fostering a positive environment that can break the cycle of incarceration.
    115 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Alana Hines
  • Help Us Get Period Products On The Ferries
    Hello, we are middle school girls who are doing a project for 7th grade. We have noticed that there are no menstrual products or sanitary bins in the ferry bathrooms. You can't even buy them in the galley. We thought that this would be a perfect topic to stand up for what we think is right and fair. These products are only available if you ask a crew member. You already have to pay for the period products, and now you have to go up to a stranger and ask them for something that you might not feel comfortable asking for. This can lead to embarrassment, and can also cause people who have periods to not feel supported by their community. This makes us question our equality. The ferry provides all the basic bathroom necessities for people who don't menstruate. But they omit some of the basic bathroom necessities for people who do menstruate. When we reached out to the ferry customer service they said that they removed the period product dispensers due to vandalism. When basic things like toilet paper, soap dispensers, and paper towel machines get vandalized, the ferry management accepts the cost of vandalism, puts them back out, and restocks them. On the other hand, when period products get vandalized, the ferry management uses vandalism as an acceptable reason to take them down and get rid of them. The lack of period products in the bathrooms is a lack of respect and privacy. This is an unequal level of service based on gender. If you want to support getting period products and sanitary bins in the ferry bathrooms, please sign our petition. Thank you for reading. :)
    343 of 400 Signatures
    Created by Eden Whitmire
  • Urgent Call for Reform: Strengthening the University of Maryland's Response to Sexual Harassment
    I believe that by proactively addressing these aspects, the University of Maryland can take a significant step towards creating a campus where all students feel secure and supported. I kindly request your attention to this matter and your commitment to implementing these reforms as part of the ongoing efforts to prioritize the well-being of our university community. The Diamondback covered a story in December 2022 relating to the record-high rate of sexual misconduct reports during the 2021-2022 period. The sexual misconduct reports come from students, staff, or faculty members on UMD’s campus, which are then reviewed by a Title XI coordinator at OCRSM. The coordinator then reaches out to the complainant who can then decide if they want to file a complaint for the University to address their report of sexual misconduct. Hundreds of reports were filed within the 2021-2022 reporting period, with only 25 becoming formal complaints. Complainants did not want to move forward in 94 of the cases and did not respond to the outreach in 107 of the cases. In 41 cases the university determined it did not have authority over the respondent. While sexual harassment was the most frequently reported type of sexual misconduct within this reporting period, there were zero investigations into the assaults in that same period (UMD Sees Record High in Sexual Misconduct Reports During 2021-2022, 2022). Seeing this rise in sexual harassment on campus facilitates the necessity of reforming the current policies related to on-campus and workplace sexual harassment.
    75 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Sydney Dailer